


Getting By As Best We Can

by Spazzin



Category: mystic - Fandom
Genre: Codes & Ciphers, Comedy, Deep Web Excursions, Hacking, Karaoke, Knitting, MC Is Named Jangmi, Morse Code, Multi, Mystery, No One In The RFA Is Straight, Politics, RFA Shenanigans, Romance, Saeran Swears A Lot, Slow Burn, Swearing, Symbolism, binary, no one - Freeform, so much swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-09-30 22:32:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10173893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spazzin/pseuds/Spazzin
Summary: It'd been almost a year since the Mint Eye fiasco, V's death, and Rika's mysterious disappearance.  But the madness doesn't end here.But then again, does it ever?





	1. 00110001

**Author's Note:**

> I should warn you guys now, you miiight need a binary translator. Just saying.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yoosung sings hard rock, Saeran swears, and Saeyoung and Jangmi slather each other's naked bodies in Peruvian dirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 01000001 01101000 00101100 00100000 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100001 00100000 00100000 01010111 01100101 01101100 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100001 00100000 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01100111 01101100 01100001 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100000 01110101 01101110 01100100 01100101 01110010 01110011 01110100 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100001 00100000 00100000 01001111 01110010 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110101 01110011 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01101110 01110011 01101100 01100001 01110100 01101111 01110010 00101110 00101110 00101110 00111111 00100000 00100000 01001111 01101000 00100000 01110111 01100101 01101100 01101100 00100001 00100000 00100000 01000101 01101110 01101010 01101111 01111001 00100001

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

When Saeyoung Choi woke up from his slumber at his desk at around 22:54, he found himself covered in a knit blanket colored black, yellow, orange, and red. All his favorite colors.

He sat up and snuggled into the blanket. He remembered it being a Christmas present from his fiancee Jangmi Park - she knit it herself, he knew, she always did. She even made one for his twin brother Saeran, the colors inverted. “Because you’re different while being the same!” she’d said. Everyone was certain that Saeran would throw his away or destroy it during one of his outbursts, but instead he kept it in his room at the foot of his bed. Saeyoung made a mental note to check in on him one of these nights and see if he slept with it.

Once he was a little more awake, he stretched in his seat and stood up to move his slumber to his and Jangmi's shared bedroom. The lights in Saeran’s room were still on, the muffled sounds of Overwatch the only sound to be heard.

He smiled before slipping into the room next to Saeran’s, where Jangmi was knitting a sweater for Yoosung Kim's upcoming birthday. Her tongue was peeking through her lips as it always did when she was deep in concentration, her soft brown hair in a bun held by a scrunchie, her eyes focused.

Saeyoung covered his mouth to keep from squealing at how adorable his fiancee was.

Too bad a little bit came out.

Jangmi glanced up at him, face frozen.

She smiled up at him.

“Blep!”

He could no longer contain himself. He squealed and jumped onto the bed, smothering his fiancee in kisses.

She eventually returned the kisses once she’d maneuvered her project out of the way.

The night led to more than kissing, needless to say.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeran cringed at the moans and giggles coming from the other side of the wall.

He grabbed his headset, plugged it in and turned it on.

“I’m on mic, Saeyoung and Jangmi are being gross,” he said into the mic.

“How so?” Yoosung asked from the other end.

Saeran narrowed his eyes at Yoosung’s character. Just HOW could someone his age be so goddamn INNOCENT?

“Doesn’t matter, let’s go kick some ass.”

“Right!”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

In the morning, the doorbell rang. Saeyoung and Jangmi groaned at having been woken up. They laid in their bed for a few minutes cuddling.

They stayed like that for another ten minutes. Just to be sure the person was gone.

They slowly left the bed together, slowly made their way down the hall from their bedroom, and slowly checked outside the building.

There was a package.

Saeyoung and Jangmi looked at each other for a moment, silently wondering what to do.

They nodded, having each made a decision. And since the two of them were notorious among the other RFA members for have a supposed “Psychic Connection”, they had the same thought.

Jangmi ran out to grab the package and bring it in while Saeyoung kept watch. She grabbed it and ran back with much swiftness.

They went to sit on the couch to study the package.

> *To: Saeyoung Choi  
>  *From: Unknown Sender  
>  *Location: Cusco, Peru

“Is it the eighth already?” Saeyoung asked.

“I think so?” Jangmi said, her voice uncertain.

“Then we’re not opening this until we’re sure it’s the eighth.”

The couple took the box to their bedroom where their phones were. Their phone calendars said that it was indeed the 8th, and that the phones were not bugged.

Saeyoung still took the necessary precautions. He carried the box to his office, Jangmi following cautiously.

They set the box on the empty coffee table as carefully as they could.

Saeyoung took a boxcutter to the tape, slicing slowly from end to end and then setting the cutter down.

Jangmi used the tips of her fingernails to slowly pry the box open, Saeyoung keeping a close watch on her.

She opened the box.

Inside were some souvenirs from Peru. Photographs, a case of Inca Kola, jars of dirt from Machu Picchu, a handmade jaguar plushie, and a colorfully beaded necklace.

The couple oohed and ahhed at the souvenirs.

“I’ll take the necklace,” Jangmi said.

“I call dibs on the jars of dirt and the Inca Kola,” Saeyoung said.

“Saeran gets at least one jar of dirt as well as the jaguar plushie, plus a third of the soda.”

“Why a third?”

“One third for each of us, Saeyoungie. One third for each of us.”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“...in other news, Prime Minister Chuwon Lee has recently returned from The Hague -”

The television switched off. Zen sighed as he flopped back on his sofa. He tried not to deal with politics. Too much bullshit.

Seriously, if he wanted to pay attention to stuff like this, he’d talk to Jumin.

It had actually been a while since then. How was he doing, anyway…?

And since when did he care?!

Zen sighed. Jumin Han had been absent from the RFA chatroom on a business trip in Monte Carlo. Saeyoung, Jangmi, and Saeran were more than a little convinced that he was there on vacation rather than a business trip. The proof they had compiled consisted of pictures of the casinos, the Monaco Grand Prix, and Saeyoung in very convincing Grace Kelly cosplay.

Seriously, if Mr. Trust Fund was going to go on vacation, he could at least bring something back for him...

Whoa, there he goes again. Zen was starting to get real tired of this.

He sighed and decided to grab a beer from the fridge.

Zen had been thinking about Jumin Han a lot more often than he'd care to admit. He wasn't sure why this was, but ever since last year's RFA Christmas party, things between the actor and the businessman were...different. He wasn't sure if the rest of the RFA could tell - hell, he wasn't even sure if Jumin could tell anything was different - but Zen could tell, and somehow it felt way too obvious.

It was honestly pretty terrifying.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

When Saeran finally woke up, it was almost noon. 11:27, to be precise.

He checked his phone. Of course, there was his usual good-morning message from Yoosung.

**(8:36) Yoosung★: good morning saeran! i'm off to school! hope you slept well! (^o^)/**

**(11:29) saeran: i did. thank you.**

He put his phone in his pocket and got out of bed.

When he reached the living room, regret filled him immediately.

He went back to his room, nauseated. His brother and future sister-in-law on the couch naked smothering each other in dirt was not something he wanted to see ever in his life.

Where the hell did they even get dirt anyway?

He decided to text Yoosung.

**(11:43) saeran: i regret waking up**

**(11:44) Yoosung★: really? why?**

**(11:44) saeran: saeyoung and jangmi are naked on the couch covered in dirt.**

**(11:44) saeran: don't ask. i don't know either.**

**(11:45) Yoosung★: (O_O;) wow.**

**(11:46) saeran: yeah. half expected there to be a bong nearby.**

**(11:46) Yoosung★: lololol**

**(11:46) saeran: you're not in class are you?**

**(11:46) Yoosung★: T_T**

**(11:46) saeran: text back when you're done.**

Saeran sighed and put his phone down, going over to the computer. He logged in, opened the browser he and Saeyoung designed for the household's personal use.

He went to his history and opened up the last tab he'd been on before he went to bed.

He turned on some music and set to work.

So far he had five names, his brother's and his own included. The names had been compiled over the course of a few months. Saeyoung had three names compiled. The twins wouldn't tell anyone what they were for. Not that anyone outside of Jangmi knew they existed, but Saeyoung told Jangmi everything. At least he bothered asking him for permission before telling her.

At quarter past noon, Saeran's phone rang.

He picked it up and checked the caller ID. He answered.

"What?"

_"Hey_ _Saeran!"_ Yoosung answered cheerfully. _"I just got lunch! I decided to have some McDonald's_. _What about you? Have you eaten yet_?"

"I'm pretty sure Saeyoung and Jangmi are still naked and covered in dirt, so I haven't gone back out yet," Saeran said tiredly.

_"Oh, okay. But make sure you eat something, okay? It's important to eat healthy!"_

"Yeah, yeah, I still have half a box of honey buddha chips and some bottles of water," Saeran said.

_"Okay! But eat something extra-good for dinner to make up for it, okay?"_  Yoosung asked.

"Yeah, whatever," Saeran mumbled.

Yoosung laughed, causing a warm tingly feeling to course through Saeran's chest. _"So what are you listening to right now?"_ he asked. He was always curious about every little thing Saeran did, and while it could be overwhelming at times, other times Saeran was okay with it.

"REO Speedwagon, Ridin’ The Storm Out," Saeran explained.

_"Oh! It sounds really cool!"_  Yoosung said. He sounded like he genuinely meant it. _"Oh, by the way! It's the first Wednesday of the month, so it's karaoke night. Make sure you remind Saeyoung and Jangmi, okay? N-not right now of course, when they have clothes on!"_

"Yeah, dirt isn't exactly a substitute for pants," Saeran said drily. Yoosung laughed. There's that warm tingly feeling again.

_"I should get going, my next class in in ten minutes,"_  Yoosung said. _"Talk to you later, and I'll see you this evening, okay?"_

"Okay," Saeran said.

_"Okay! Bye, Saeran!"_ Yoosung said cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, see ya." And with that, Saeran hung up his phone.

He decided to waste some time in the RFA chatroom. Zen and Jaehee were there already. Saeran wasn't familiar enough with them to do much, so he decided to get revenge on his brother and future sister-in-law for being naked on the couch covered in dirt. Seriously, why couldn't they do that in their room?

He grabbed the most air-filled bag of honey buddha chips he could find in the half-empty box. He didn't have anything in his room sharper than a ballpoint pen - not after the incident during Liberation Day last year.

So with nothing but a bag of honey buddha chips and a ballpoint pen, he set out to put his plan into motion.

He opened his door, scanning the hallway. Nothing. Perfect.

He silently walked up behind the couch, where Saeyoung and Jangmi were still naked, and also even dirtier than they had been nearly an hour earlier. They were staring at some photographs.

He lifted the chip bag and pen. Five...four...three...two...one...

POP!

"AAAAH!"

Saeran was grateful he'd decided to grab his phone. He took a photo of their deer-in-the-headlights expressions. The back of the couch covered anything unsightly - the perfect censorship bar. He smirked as he put it up in the RFA chatroom.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: Idiots

saeran: [idiots_437.jpg]

ZEN: wtf Saeran.

Jaehee: What is this?

saeran: Revenge.

ZEN: Why are they naked and covered in dirt...?

saeran: Beats me. They were like this when I first woke up an hour ago.

*707 has logged in*  
*Jangmi has logged in*

707: Caught in the nude by my own brother. How could you.

Jangmi: My ears are still ringing...

Jaehee: What did he even do?

Jangmi: Jaehee, good afternoon!

707: He popped a bag of honey buddha chips!

707: IN OUR EARS!!!

707: I think I might be deaf...

Jangmi: Oh no! God Seven, can you hear me?

707: I can't hear you, Goddess Six!

Jangmi: Can you hear me now?!

707: What?!

Jangmi: How about now?!!

707: WHAT?!!!

*Jumin Han has logged in.*

Jumin Han: Saeyoung, I do not think typing is an ideal way to judge whether or not you're deaf.

saeran: Well, now that my brother is deaf, I can finally say whatever I want.

ZEN: Where the hell have YOU been, Mr. Trust-fund?

saeran: hell

Jumin Han: I've been on a business trip in Monte Carlo for the past three weeks and am currently on my way back.

Jumin Han: And does this look like "hell" to you, Saeran?

Jumin Han: [montecarlo9.jpg]

saeran: Yes.

saeran: shit fuck motherfucker ass tits

ZEN: That's not what I fucking meant Jerkmin.

ZEN: You've been MIA from the chat for three weeks.

*Yoosung★ has logged in.*

saeran: cocksucker bitch cunt

Yoosung★: What...?

saeran: Fuck.

Jumin Han: Zen, did you miss me?

Jangmi: Saeran! No swearing in front of the ickle Yoosung!

707: I STILL CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!

Saeran: I wasn't trying to, I was talking about Saeyoung!

ZEN: Fuck you, asshole.

707: lol he wishes

Jangmi: God Seven! You can hear again!

707: Goddess Six, is that you?!

707: I never thought I'd hear your sweet voice again!

Yoosung★: What's going on here...?

Jaehee: I don't even know anymore, Yoosung.

*Jaehee has logged out.*

Jangmi: Hello, Yoosung~

Jangmi: Try scrolling up, see if that helps.

Yoosung★: Okay...

Jangmi: But Zen has a point Jumin, you never logged into the RFA chatroom once while you were gone.

Jangmi: And that's surprising since you're usually pretty good with keeping in touch, even during business trips.

Jangmi: Did something happen?

Jumin Han: Well, between meetings and being forcibly dragged to the casino right after, there was very little time for anything.

707: I KNEW it was the casino! Saeran, you owe me 50000 won!

saeran: I'll give you half of what's left of the box of honey buddha chips in my room if you'll cut that in half.

707: Make it three fourths.

saeran: Two thirds, final offer, deal or no deal.

707: Deal!

ZEN: So logging in for a few minutes once you got back to your hotel was too much for you?

Jumin Han: Clearly you've never been to a casino.

ZEN: That's not the point here asshole!

Yoosung★: I scrolled back up and I have so many regrets...

Yoosung★: I am so sorry Saeran.

saeran: Thank you for your condolences. Sorry you had to see that.

707: Wait, why are you apologizing to him?! That's our privacy he exploded a chip bag in!

Jangmi: Jumin, Zen has a point, that's not a very good excuse.

Jangmi: Perhaps you were exhausted, which I can understand

Jangmi: but couldn't you have given an excuse at some point?

Jangmi: And Saeyoung, we really should shower.

Jangmi: I want to see if Peruvian dirt is as exfoliating as I think it is.

707: Of course, my angel!

Jangmi: I'm very sorry you had to see that, Saeran.

saeran: Then do that in your bedroom next time.

saeran: For fuck's sake.

Jangmi: Saeran, no swearing in front of the ickle Yoosung or no ice cream tonight.

707: Ooh, breaking out the big guns...

saeran: ...

saeran: Sorry.

Jangmi: Good. Now Saeyoung and I will be in the shower. And when we come back, Jumin and Zen had better be kissing or else.

Jangmi: Bye everyone! See you all this evening!

*Jangmi has logged out.*

707: How did I get so lucky...?

707: Well!

707: My fiancee is waiting for me in the bath~

707: See you tonight!

707: Hope you smooch!

*707 has logged out*

saeran: ...

saeran: If Zen and Jumin do end up kissing, it better not be anywhere near me.

saeran: See you tonight.

Yoosung★: Okay! See you there, Saeran!

*saeran has logged out*

ZEN: I have to go.

Yoosung★: Okay! Goodbye Zen!

*ZEN has logged out.*

Yoosung★: I have to go too. I have anatomy in twenty minutes.

Yoosung★: Bye Jumin!

Jumin Han: Yoosung, wait.

Yoosung★: ?

Jumin Han: My flight has a layover in Dubai.

Jumin Han: Should I bring something back for everyone?

Yoosung★: Yes.

Yoosung★: And make it extra-awesome as an apology.

Yoosung★: Zen seemed very upset that you haven't kept in touch.

Yoosung★: He wasn't even in the chat at all last weekend!

Jumin Han: Really?

Jumin Han: Interesting.

Jumin Han: I will be back tomorrow Yoosung.

Jumin Han: Have fun in class.

*Jumin Han has logged out.*

Yoosung★: Have fun in class...

Yoosung★: That's an oxymoron...

*Yoosung★ has logged out*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The hours came and went.

It was time.

Everyone that was not Jumin Han made it to the karaoke bar.

They went to their room and sat down.

“Lottery time!” Jangmi announced. “Who, oh who shall be first this time I wonder?”

“Let’s find out!” Saeyoung said, grabbing his lot.

Yoosung and Zen followed after, then Jaehee.

Jangmi had the only one left.

“Okay!” she said dramatically. “The first of us to go is…”

She tapped her phone. “…number 4! Number 4, who’s number 4?”

“Woo!” Yoosung cheered.

“There you have it,” Jaehee said.

“Alright, Yoosung!” Zen said. “What song’re you gonna sing?”

Yoosung thought for a moment. Then realization dawned on his face.

“Riding The Storm Out by Oreo Speedwagon!” he said cheerfully.

“It’s REO, not Oreo,” Saeran sighed.

“Isn’t that what I said?” Yoosung asked, confused.

Saeran sighed. “Close enough.”

Yoosung clenched his fists in victory and hopped up to the microphone.

The song started playing.

Yoosung hopped in place for a few minutes while the song led into the vocals.

“Ridin’ the storm out~ Waitin’ for the thaw out~ On a full moon night in the rocky mountain winter~”

Saeran leaned against the wall and lowered his eyes. Yoosung wasn’t a bad singer. His voice didn’t quite suit the song, however.

When Yoosung was done, his claps were among the cheers of the rest of the RFA-minus-Jumin Han.

“Way to go Yoosungie!” Jangmi said. “Okay, up next we have…number 5! Who’s number 5?”

“That’s me,” Zen said, giving a complimentary hair flip. “Prepare yourselves.”

“Selves: Braced!” Jangmi said. “Go, Zen!”

Jaehee heightened her focus and retrieved her phone, prepared to film Zen in action.

Zen picked out his song and began to sing.

“If I had a mind to~ I wouldn’t wanna think like you~ And if I had a time to~ I wouldn’t wanna talk to you~ I don’t care~ What you do~ I wouldn’t want to be like you~”

“Haha, he’s singing about Jumin!” Saeyoung laughed.

“Can’t deny the accuracy,” Jaehee said.

“Jaehee,” Jangmi said seriously. “You’ve been free from The Han for a month now. You can say it.”

“Oh, okay then. SING IT, ZENNY!”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeyoung and Jangmi came back to the bunker, giggling. Saeran was just tired as crap.

He sighed and he unlocked the door for them. He decided to leave them as they were and head off to his room for the night.

Saeran took out his sketchbook and began to draw.

It was a sort of routine for him. He’d draw something relevant to what happened that day, write a few paragraphs giving more detail, and then take his medication before going to bed.

Saeran hated taking the medication. But he didn’t hate it near as much as he hated how he felt last time he avoided taking it.

He finished his drawing - a sketch of Yoosung singing, the lyrics to the song in English rolling around him.

He sighed and started scratching at his wrist. He had been drawing Yoosung a lot more often as of late - well, not as of late, per se. It’s been going on for a while. And it bugged him.

Whatever it meant, it could wait until the morning.

Saeran took his medications and went to bed.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


	2. 00110010

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jangmi owns a shipping company, Jumin knows absolutely nothing, and Saeran is too gay for his own good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 01000100 01101001 01100100 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110100 01110010 01100001 01101110 01110011 01101100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01110000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100111 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 01100101 01110011 00111111 00100000 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101111 00101100 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110111 01101001 01110011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01101000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01100001 00100000 01100001 01110111 01101011 01110111 01100001 01110010 01100100 00101110 00101110 00101110

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: Welcome Back, Jumin

Jaehee Kang: Yoosung, Zen and I have made it safely to the airport.

Jaehee Kang: Jumin should be here shortly.

Jangmi: [best_poster_evar_17.jpg]

Jangmi: Saeyoung, Saeran and I made it!

707: I did the glitter all by myself!

saeran: Good for you.

Jangmi: Saeran sketched the Elly in the corner!

saeran: Shut up.

Yoosung★: Wow, Saeran, I actually thought it was a photo!

saeran: …

saeran: Thanks…

707: GASP!!!

707: And expression of gratitude, unprompted!

707: A miracle!

Jangmi: Hallelujah!

saeran: …

saeran: I hate both of you, I hope you know that.

Jangmi: Aw, we love you too, Saeran!

*saeran has logged out*

707: lol he’s blushing

Jangmi: Saeyoung, you can stop teasing your brother now.

707: Awww, okay…

Jaehee Kang: Jangmi, I will never understand how you can do that.

Jangmi: Do what?

Jaehee Kang: …

Jaehee Kang: Never mind.

Yoosung★: Wait!!!

Yoosung★: Where did Zen go?!

Jaehee Kang: No idea. I’ll call him and check. If that fails, Jangmi will call.

Jangmi: Um??? Okay???

Yoosung★: Maybe he’s in the bathroom?

Jangmi: lololol airport bathroom selfies

707: Pics without a urinal cost extra~

*saeran has logged in*

saeran: Zen is in the baggage claim if anyone was wondering.

Jaehee Kang: Thank you, Saeran.

Jaehee Kang: Wait, how do you know that?

saeran: I track everyone in the RFA through their phones.

saeran: I have my reasons.

Jangmi: In case someone gets lost or kidnapped, that will make it easier to find them.

saeran: Dammit Jangmi let me be mysterious.

Jangmi: lol nah

Yoosung★: Wooow! That’s really kind of you to keep track like that!

*saeran has logged out.*

Yoosung★: Did I say something wrong…?

707: No, you just got him a bit overwhelmed.

Jangmi: I thought I saw him blushing harder…

Jangmi: …but that could just be my shipper’s heart being sent into overdrive~

Jaehee Kang: …

707: …

Yoosung★: You have a job in shipping, Jangmi?

Jangmi: ya

Jangmi: I ship many things!

Jangmi: Saejang…

Jangmi: Juzen…

Jangmi: Yooran…

Jangmi: Jaehee x vacation…

Jaehee Kang: Please tell me more about that last one.

Yoosung★: What are those things?

Jangmi: Good things, Yoosung.

Jangmi: Very, very good things.

707: That first one tho

Jangmi: OTP

707: SAME

Jaehee Kang: Jumin has just shown up at the gate.

Jaehee Kang: We are on our way to the baggage claim now.

Jaehee Kang: We will see you all in the conference room this evening as per usual.

*Jaehee Kang has logged out.*

Yoosung★: Bye, guys!

Jangmi: Bye, Yoosung~

*Yoosung★ has logged out.*

707: Okay but did he see the poster?

707: Because if he didn’t, what was the point of making it?

Jangmi: We’ll bring it with us to the meeting.

707: You are so smart~

Jangmi: And you are so sexy~

707: Muah!

Jangmi: Muah!

*707 has logged out.*

*Jangmi has logged out.*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Jumiiiin, you said you’d bring a present…” Yoosung whined.

“Yoosung, I assure you that the present is being shipped as we speak,” Jumin said. “It should be here in two weeks at the most.”

“Hmm…I wonder if Jangmi could ship it…” Yoosung pondered.

“Why…?”

“It’s a long story, Jumin,” Jaehee said. “The world of fandoms is one I don’t think you can grasp.”

“Considering I don’t even know what that is, I will assume that you are correct.”

“Oh, hey, it’s Zen!” Yoosung called. “Hey Zen!”

Zen was sitting on a bench listening to music. He didn’t seem to hear Yoosung calling out to him.

Jaehee stepped up to him and waved a hand in front of the actor’s face. Zen didn’t even notice. Not even when she snapped in his face.

Jumin sighed and walked toward Zen. He pulled out his wallet and took out a glamor shot of Elizabeth the 3rd and waved in front of Zen’s face.

Zen wrinkled his nose a bit, but nothing else. Jumin sighed. He really didn’t want to have to do this, but he’d been given no choice.

He yanked Zen’s headphones from the jack.

Zen jumped and looked up at the businessman angrily. “What the fuck, asshole!”

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Zen,” Jumin said, as though he hadn’t just committed a grievous crime in the eyes of the albino actor.

“Go fuck a cactus!” Zen spat.

“I can honestly say that I have never seen a cactus,” the future chairman said.

Zen, Jaehee, and Yoosung all stared at Jumin.

“That’s not the point here, Trust Fund!” Zen shouted. “You don’t just yank someone’s headphones!”

“He has a point,” Yoosung mumbled. Jaehee nodded, her arms crossed in front of her.

“I had no other choice,” Jumin defended. “Now. Shall we head on over to the conference hall?”

“It’s a few hours early, but I guess so…” Yoosung said, sending the update to the appropriate parties.

Jaehee was sympathetic to the plight of the younger man. At least he wasn’t yet being made to catsit Elizabeth 3rd.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It was 15:06 when Yoosung sent out the text to the other three RFA members telling them that Mr. Han expected them in C&R conference room 3 at 15:30 sharp.

Jangmi was fresh out of her next-to-last class of the day when she received the text. Her next class wasn’t a required course for her major, so she decided she could skip it in favor of the RFA meeting. If it were to turn out that she couldn’t, she knew of at least two people who could retroactively make it so that she could.

She was texting Saeyoung to tell him to come pick her up at the cafe he always did when she bumped into someone and fell over, causing the other person to drop what they were holding.

Jangmi panicked. “O-oh my gosh, I-I’m so sorry, I was texting my fiance to come and pick me up and I wasn’t looking where I was going, I’m so sorry -”

The other person, a tall-ish and athletic-seeming woman with tan skin, gold eyes and short black hair, laughed. “Don’t worry about it too much, it’s fine!” she said, holding out a hand to help Jangmi up. Jangmi noticed she smelled like cigarettes and spice.

And also that she was familiar.

“Um, do I...know you?” Jangmi asked nervously.

The taller woman seemed to think about this. Then she made a gesture of realization. “We have algebra together!” she said. “You’re Jangmi Park, right?”

Jangmi nodded, silently relieved that she hadn’t mistaken this woman for someone else. “Yes, that’s me! And you are…?”

“Cam Vu. My mother is Vietnamese. Nice to meetcha!”

Jangmi smiled. “It’s nice to meet you too!”

“Jangmiiii!”

Jangmi and Cam turned to the redheaded source of the sound. Jangmi brightened instantly.

“Saeyoooung!” she cried, running into her fiancee’s arms. Saeyoung caught her and spun her around before kissing her and putting her down.

“Are you ready to go?” Saeyoung asked.

Jangmi nodded.

“Wait,” Cam interjected, “Can I have your number? We could meet up sometime and study!”

Jangmi nodded, giving Cam her phone so she could add her as a contact. Cam did the same before waving her off.

As Jangmi and Saeyoung walked to the car holding hands, Saeyoung spoke up.

“Who was that~?” he asked in a sing-song voice.

“Oh, her name is Cam Vu, we have algebra together!” Jangmi said cheerfully. “I really hope we can be friends…”

Saeyoung smiled. “Awww, look at my little kitty-cat, making friends like some anime protagonist~” he cooed, lightly nibbling Jangmi’s ear. Jangmi giggled in response.

When they reached the car, Saeyoung and Jangmi stopped dead in their tracks.

Saeran was in the back of the car, as he was supposed to be. The problem, however, lied in the fact that there were bags of random snack foods in the back seat next to him. Saeyoung cleared his throat, gaining his twin’s attention.

The younger redhead glanced up at the elder. “Yo.”

Saeyoung crossed his arms and tapped his foot while glaring at Saeran.

Saeran made no effort to move.

Jangmi glanced between them nervously.

“Want some?” Saeran said, holding out a Pepero stick like he hadn’t just purchased candies and pastries on impulse.

Saeyoung fell for it. He smiled like he had been blessed by the gods and took the sweet, eyes sparkling as he silently went to the driver's seat.

Jangmi rolled her eyes. “Saeran,” she said, “as punishment for running off and buying this stuff without our permission, you’ll have to share half at the meeting.”

Saeran pouted, putting another Pepero stick into his mouth and taking out his phone. “Just for that, you’re not getting a Choco Pie…”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yoosung sat in his seat at the RFA conference room table next to Zen and opposite Jaehee, debating the merits of spinning it around - it’s not every day one gets to sit a swivel chair this comfy.

His thoughts of workplace rebellion were interrupted when his phone vibrated.

**(3:17) saeran: on our way.**

**(3:17) saeran: i have snacks.**

**(3:18) Yoosung★: woohoo! \\(⌒▽⌒)/**

**(3:18) saeran: we’ll be there in ten minutes.**

**(3:18) Yoosung★: ok!**

Yoosung vibrated in his seat, squealing at the prospect of free snacks. Zen pressed a hand to the younger man’s head so he would stop. Once the actor released Yoosung, he started vibrating again instantly. Zen put his hand back on Yoosung’s head, stopping his vibrations. He released the gamer, causing the vibrations to restart.

He continued to do this for another five minutes until Jumin threatened to have them both stand in the hall holding buckets of water if they didn’t stop their aimless shenanigans. Yoosung remained smiling however, his leg bouncing madly underneath the table.

Enter The Choi Squad.

Saeyoung smiled widely, waving a few bags of snacks as he took his seat. Jangmi sat between him and Jaehee and across from Zen. She gave everyone a bright smile - she always did, every time they met. Saeran sat next to Yoosung, across from his brother. As the “babies” of the RFA, they didn’t have much to do in meetings unless specifically asked by either Jumin or Jangmi.

Saeran offered Yoosung a Pepero stick, holding it out to him wordlessly. Yoosung grabbed it between his teeth and yanked it from the other man’s hand. He held it between his lips, checking his phone for notifications from any of his apps.

Saeran blinked a few times before lifting his hood over his head to hide his blush because damn that was cute and maybe also slightly hot.

Saeran checked his phone for any notifications, seeing nothing of importance. He decided to listen to some music to take his mind off of his emotions.

He pulled out his headphones and put his chosen playlist on shuffle.

The younger Choi twin knew he had to listen to at least some of the meeting, so he put the volume of his music on its highest setting and put his headphones around his neck. He popped a few gummy bears into his mouth and relaxed, pulling his legs in toward his torso and putting his feet on the edge of the table. Jumin continued talking as usual, but his glare was fixated on Saeran.

Saeran could feel it, so he took advantage by flipping off the businessman. The sound of snickering told him that Zen was watching.

Saeran decided to turn the volume on his headphones up to eleven - anything to avoid listening to Jumin Han drone on about adding more cat shit to this year’s planned party.

Then he felt a small earthquake.

Wait. That’s no earthquake.

Yoosung’s leg was vibrating again - this time bad enough to make the table shake. How none of the other RFA members were noticing this Saeran had no idea. Anymore and he’d have an outburst. So he took it upon himself to stop Yoosung’s jittery leg where it was.

He set his hand firmly on Yoosung’s thigh just above the knee, gripping it so he wouldn’t move.

Yoosung squeaked. He turned to face Saeran. His hood was beginning to fall back, making his profile visible. Were Saeran’s eyelashes naturally that long, or is it just makeup? Yoosung didn’t see any clumps. Saeran had surprisingly strong hands - he seemed a bit frail at first glance, so that fact was surprising. The pressure of Saeran’s hand on Yoosung’s thigh made him feel tingly - bit in a good way, like the way he felt when he was about to acquire an extremely rare item in LOLOL.

Yoosung hadn’t realized he was staring until Saeran glanced up at him, causing his hoodie to completely fall and reveal his bright red hair. The gamer suddenly felt like he was on fire.

Jumin cleared his throat, inadvertently attracting attention toward the youngest men.

“If you two are finished with your aimless shenanigans, we have finalized the date for this year’s RFA party.”

“Jumin, their shenanigans aren’t aimless!” Jangmi said in their defense. “The aim just isn’t somewhere you’re familiar with!”

Zen and Saeyoung broke into raucous laughter, high fiving each other. Yoosung was confused, while Saeran pulled his hood over his head and pulled the drawstrings taut to further hide his face.

Jaehee sighed. She was, for all intents and purposes, done.

“Well,” she announced as she stood, “since we are finished here, I believe I shall take my leave. I will see you tomorrow, Jangmi.”

“Bye, Jaehee! See you tomorrow!” Jangmi called after her as she left.

The group was quiet as they packed up their things to leave.

“So…” Yoosung said. “When’s the next party?”

“September sixteenth,” Jangmi replied. “We have six months to acquire guests and get everything organized.”

“Certainly better than the week you had last year,” Yoosung mumbled.

Jangmi smiled. “Well, you can’t exactly deny that…”

She wrapped herself around Saeyoung’s arm. “But I still wouldn’t trade that week for the world.”

Saeyoung smiled and hugged his fiancee. “You and me both, honey. You and me both.”

Saeran groaned and hit his head on the table. Yoosung awed. Zen sighed at the young love blossoming before him. Jumin stood there, seemingly uncaring.

“I will see you all next month, if not sooner,” Jumin said as he left.

“Of course, we’ll see you then!” Jangmi said.

As soon as Jumin left, Saeran started tapped his foot against the table’s edge and humming.

“Hey, Saeran, what song is that one?” Yoosung asked.

“Don’t Bring Me Down by ELO,” Saeran replied.

“Aren’t those the same guys who sang Riding The Storm Out?” Yoosung asked.

“That’s REO Speedwagon. ELO is different, it stands for Electric Light Orchestra.”

“Ohhhh,” Yoosung said in realization. “I don’t get it.”

“It’s music, Yoosung, you don’t HAVE to get it!” Zen said. “Just experience it and you’ll be fine.”

“All Over The World is a great one~” Saeyoung said.

“Mr. Blue Sky~ Please tell us why~ You had to hide away for so long~ So long~” Jangmi sang.

“Xanadu was a terrible movie, but the music was great,” Zen said.

“Okay, stop talking, Hollaback Girl’s on.”

_**❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️** _

_**~A few days later…~** _

_**❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️** _

Jangmi and Saeyoung were awoken by the sound of loud Western music.

Saeyoung sat up slowly, eyes bleary.

“Izzat Electric Avenue…?” he said as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes.

Jangmi hummed. “S’ catchy…”

“What is Saeran doing anyway…?”

“Dunno. Should we check on him, see that he’s not…?”

“Yeah, we should.”

Saeyoung swung his legs over the edge, wiggling his toes. Jangmi sat up and yawned.

“Wait,” Saeyoung said suddenly. “First thing’s first; are we naked?”

Jangmi glanced at her fiancee in his red undershirt and black sweatpants, then down at her own ecru nightslip with lacy black trim. “We are most certainly not naked,” she announced.

“Okay, but are you wearing panties?” Saeyoung asked.

Jangmi narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips at the smug redhead.

She stood up to leave the room.

“WAIT, I WAS KIDDING, DON’T GO MY SWEET!”

“Then come with me,” Jangmi said, grabbing Saeyoung by the wrist.

Meanwhile, Saeran was mixing the ingredients for frosting while the cake was baking. It took a lot of effort not to just eat the frosting, but for Yoosung’s birthday cake, he could control himself for a bit.

For Yoosung, he’d control himself.

He paused briefly to check the fridge. The strawberries were still there, just like they had been ten minutes ago, and ten minutes before that, and the night before that.

He took them from the fridge and set them on the counter, waiting out the remaining three minutes and thirty-three seconds for the timer to go off.

The song changed after he sat down on empty part of the counter. Saeran hummed along.

Then he heard giggling. Familiar, ANNOYING giggling.

“The hell do you guys want? I’m busy.”

“Do you need any help, Saeran?” Jangmi asked.

“I could lick the batter!” Saeyoung added.

“I don’t need help, and I already got the batter,” Saeran said.

“Okay then, we’ll go and wrap our presents~” Jangmi sang as she dragged her fiance towards the hallway by the straps of his undershirt.

“Have fun, Saeran!” Saeyoung called out as he was being dragged around a corner.

Saeran sighed as the timer for the oven went off.

Now to just wait for the damn thing to cool.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It was 18:27. The party was to begin in three minutes.

Jaehee, Jumin, and Zen sat inside Jaehee’s cafe, which had been decorated for the occasion, waiting patiently for the other guests and the guest of honor - or whichever came first. It was a tossup.

Luckily, their patience was rewarded with the presence of Jangmi, Saeyoung, and Saeran.

And strawberry cake.

“Good afternoon you three,” Jaehee greeted. “I see you’ve brought cake with you.”

Saeran glared at his brother and Jangmi, silently telling them to say nothing or die a painful death, but their smirks - along with the fact that the cake was clearly handmade - said all that Saeran really wished they wouldn’t.

Jaehee blushed, internally fangirling. Zen smirked, knowingly nodding.

“We already have a cake,” Jumin said. “If you wanted to bring another, why didn’t you just buy it?”

Zen cringed at the businessman’s statement. “Because some people can cook for themselves, Trust Fund.”

“I think it’s lovely!” Jangmi said. “Saeran did a nice job, didn’t he?”

Saeran blushed and hid his head in his hood, growling.

“Wait,” Jumin said, “Saeran made that?”

“Mmhmm!” Jangmi and Saeyoung said, smiling and nodding.

“Not bad!” Zen said. “Better than anything I could make.”

“I wonder if I should hire him,” Jaehee mused.

Saeran simply moved to sit down at a booth.

While Jangmi catted with the other RFA members, Saeyoung went to join his brother in the booth and sat across from him.

Saeran hardly so much as heard his brother walk over before getting out his phone and putting in headphones.

Saeyoung got out his phone.

**(18:32) 707:** **Don’t let them get to you. He’ll love it.**

**(18:33) saeran: you don’t know that.**

**(18:33) 707: lol tru  
(18:33) 707: But I do know Yoosung, and Yoosung will love it.**

Saeran stared at the text. He wondered who out of himself and his brother was more deluded for thinking what they did. Saeran knew that his mental illnesses could make him think and act irrationally, but Saeyoung was...Saeyoung.

**(18:37) saeran: you really think so?**

**(18:38) 707: I know so.  
(18:38) 707: You think Jangmi and I ship you two together for no reason?  
(18:38) 707: We ship it because there’s substantial proof that it could become canon!**

**(18:39) saeran: i regret coming out to you.**

**(18:39) 707: I love you too~**

Saeran gave no response, simply choosing to flip off Saeyoung.

Don’t get Saeran wrong, he’s really grateful for how supportive his brother was, it’s just that he could be a little TOO supportive sometimes. A little meaning a fuckton.

It was nice, but Saeran couldn’t help but wonder if Saeyoung ever inconvenienced Yoosung like this.

Speaking of meteors, the bell rang, signaling the entry of the guest of honor.

Everyone turned to the young blond man.

“Surprise!” Jangmi said. “Happy Birthday!”

Yoosung’s eyes widened, along with his smile. His eyes seemed to be sparkling with excitement.

“We have two - count ‘em, TWO - birthday cakes!” Saeyoung announced dramatically. “One homemade, one storebought!”

“Guess which is which, go on!” Jangmi said in excitement.

Yoosung stared at the two cakes. His eyes moved back and forth between them.

He was starting to panic a little.

“Just pick one, it doesn’t matter since they’re both cake,” Saeran said.

Yoosung relaxed slightly and pointed to Saeran’s strawberry cake.

“Is this one the homemade one?” he asked.

“Ding ding ding! We have ourselves a winner!” Saeyoung announced. “Your prize is cake.”

Yoosung cheered as if he’d won the lottery.

Saeran had to avert his eyes. Too cute for this world was Yoosung Kim.

After the Happy Birthday Song was sung, the candles blown out, and the cake cut, Yoosung took a seat next to Saeran, who was certain he would explode if the younger man came any closer.

“I see you got the storebought cake,” Yoosung said, awkwardly trying to make conversation.

Saeran grunted in response, his mouth full of the store-bought chocolate cake.

Yoosung took a bite of the homemade strawberry cake. His eyes sparkled as he savored the bite.

“This is AMAZING!” he said in awe. “Who made this?”

Saeran glared at the rest of the partygoers, daring them to say something.

“It was Saeran,” Jumin said, paying no heed to the younger man’s silent threat.

Saeran hid his face in his hood again, silently solemnly swearing to himself to slowly and painfully kill Jumin Han. Or hack into his phone so that his work contacts’ ringtones are all shitty Kpop covers by Americans. Not much difference.

“Wow Saeran, you’re a really good cook!” Yoosung said.

Saeran sat still, more thankful than ever for the hood covering his burning face.

“Thanks…” he said, voice muffled slightly by his hood.

He couldn’t see it, but he swears he could feel Yoosung’s smile radiate in his direction. The mere feeling made Saeran smile somewhat.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~A few hours later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi, the Choi twins, and Yoosung were walking back to the car, full of cake and, in Yoosung’s case, alcohol.

Yoosung was in no condition to walk back to his apartment, and since Saeyoung was the one who spiked the punch bowl, the rest of the RFA made the drunken birthday boy his responsibility.

All according to plan, not that he or his co-conspirator/fiancee would tell anyone who didn’t know the secret handshake.

He and Jangmi had oh-so-kindly offered to carry Yoosung’s presents to the car, while Saeran directed the man himself to the vehicle.

Saeran wanted to scream. Not that he didn’t always want to scream - he was always screaming internally for one reason or another. But right now he was physically fighting to keep his voice inside. He’s pretty sure a bit came out as wheezes or squeaks.

And if Yoosung kept clinging to him like he was, he was going to explode in a screaming explosion of...screams.

Saeran could NOT think straight with Yoosung hanging from his arm.

“Yoosung, let go of my arm.”

“Okaayyy~”

Yoosung let go of Saeran’s arm. And then climbed onto Saeran’s back and wrapped his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck.

Saeran stood stock still, stunned stupid.

He whimpered as he piggybacked Yoosung to the car, knowing full well what Saeyoung and Jangmi would think when they saw.

And then it hit him.

They knew this would happen.

He was going to kill those two in their sleep. Or set off the alarms on all of Saeyoung’s cars, whichever.

But then Yoosung snuggled into Saeran’s neck, his warm breath making the hairs on the redhead’s neck bristle and causing heat to form in his abdomen.

Saeyoung and Jangmi saw them, but made no comment. Saeran was grateful for that.

But he hated them for making it impossible to truly hate them. Why must his brother and sister-in-law be so good to him. He didn’t deserve them.

He didn’t deserve anything in his life.

As he set Yoosung down in the car and buckled him up, and then did the same to himself, he started clawing at his wrist.

But when Yoosung laid his head down on his lap, he gave up.

He stared out the window as he ran his fingers through Yoosung’s hair, thinking of everything and nothing.

But never had he felt quite this calm while doing so.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- .... --..-- / -.-- --- ..- / -.-. .- -. / .-. . .- -.. / - .... .. ... / - --- --- ..--.. / .-- . .-.. .-.. / .- .-. . -. .----. - / -.-- --- ..- / .- / ... -- .- .-. - -.-- .--. .- -. - ... .-.-.-
> 
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	3. 00110011

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gayest chapter so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 01000001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01110010 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111 01101110 00100000 01101100 01100001 01110111 01110011 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01100001 01110110 01101001 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101111 00100000 01110111 01100001 01111001 00100000 01100001 00100000 01100010 01100101 01100101 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100001 01100010 01101100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100110 01101100 01111001 00101110

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Zen woke up to an aching head and regret. So, so much regret.

He flipped over onto his back, only to fall on the floor with a yelp made of surprise and pain.

So, so, SO much regret.

His phone went off, the sounds of Monday Morning’s alarm tone Good Morning Baltimore blaring horribly in his ears and throughout the room.

Zen felt around for his phone for a while until the alarm turned itself off as he was using the silken bedsheets to lift himself up off the -

Wait, Zen didn’t have silk bedsheets. What the hell?

Zen had been clenching his eyes shut the whole time to keep out the dread light of dawn. Only now did he dare to try and open them.

Opening his eyes was way more difficult than it should be. Now his mindset went from “what the hell?” to “where the hell?”.

And thanks to some past experiences, “where the hell?” spawned “how the hell?” and a possible “who the hell?”. Zen didn’t get drunk easily, but when he did, crazy shit happened.

Last year’s RFA Christmas party was one such event. How Yoosung got tied to the chandelier with tinsel in only his underwear Zen still wasn’t sure, but the fact that Jangmi’s dress caught on fire at around the same was pretty suspicious.

Once Zen managed to open his eyes, an all-consuming desire to close them again and defenestrate himself occurred.

The white-and-navy pinstriped bedspread? The black wooden furniture? The extremely soft white shag carpets? Zen know of only one person with that color scheme.

Jumin fucking Han. And Zen was imprisoned in his guest bedroom.

This was last year’s RFA Christmas party all over again. At least he wasn’t handcuffed to Trust Fund’s refrigerator door this time.

But he was in nothing but his underwear again, so was it really any better?

Zen’s eyes adjusted to the light. He stood up as straight as he could and waited for the world to stop spinning around him.

Once it did, he began the search for his phone anew.

He found it tangled up in the sheets. The clock said it was 9:51. Zen sighed and pocketed the phone and left the room.

Jumin looked up at the silver-haired man as he turned the corner and casually sipped his coffee.

“Good morning Zen,” he said. “I trust you slept well, considering the time.”

“I trust you need to shut the fuck up and gimme back my damn clothes,” Zen snapped.

“It’s at the cleaners,” the businessman said calmly. “Saeyoung stuffed cake in your clothes. The 50000-won bills Jangmi stuffed into your waistband is in the top drawer of the nightstand to the right of your bed.”

“Speaking of the cleaners, you still haven’t returned my clothes from the Christmas party!” Zen accused.

“Red wine stains are impossible to remove, Zen, I told you this,” Jumin sighed.

“Nice try Jerkmin, but I asked Yoosung about that and he said that they’re difficult, not impossible.”

“Really? You actually requested help from Yoosung to try and prove me wrong?” Jumin asked, voice flat with incredulity.

“I tried it. It WORKED, Trust Fund. Like a fucking CHARM.” Zen poured himself a cup of coffee, remembering exactly where the mugs were from last time. “You better find yourself a better laundry person. Or at least one who knows how to remove wine stains.”

“Perhaps I should, but I won’t. You can simply email the directions to me and I can ask Assistant Kim to pass them along.”

“Oh, and I suppose your damn cat is with him too?”

“Her name is Elizabeth the 3rd,” Jumin corrected, “and she is currently with Assistant Ka - sorry, Jaehee.”

Zen sighed as he sat himself down in a chair and laid his head on the dining table. “I hate everything.”

“What a coincidence, so does Saeran,” Jumin said. “No wonder Yoosung gets along with both of you so well.”

Zen cringed. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I am simply attempting casual conversation.” Jumin picked up a newspaper and began to read it. “Would you like the comics section?”

“No,” Zen said.

Jumin shrugged and began to read it from the beginning.

Zen sipped his coffee. And of course Mr. Trust Fund would half some damn good coffee. Maybe he was Jaehee’s supplier. That would make a lot of sense when he considered it.

He stared at the clock. 10:18.

Zen groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. “Gimme the comics, keep the Garfield. I also want the crossword.”

Jumin handed him the requested pages - after tearing out the Garfield and Dilbert strips and faxing them to his office.

Zen avoided his gaze, absorbing himself in the adventures of Hagar the Horrible.

Jumin smiled to himself. He would return the clothes he had cleaned this time around, but the ones from the Christmas party would remain in use as pillowcases. Because of the fabric quality, of course.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~Meanwhile, back at the Choi family bunker…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeran was going to snap. If Saeyoung didn’t stop singing that idiotic song he was going to snap like a rubber band and sting twice as hard.

“Slurpin my gurt cuz I know that it purp~ Slurpin my gurt cuz I know that it purp~”

If he was going to sing memes he could at least sing All Star.

“Saeyoungie, Saeran is getting uncomfortable,” Jangmi chided gently.

“Awww, but what else am I supposed to sing while I’m having yogurt?” Saeyoung whined.

“Don’t,” Saeran said softly.

“Okay, if my dear brother wants it~”

Saeran had a feeling that his brother took that the opposite direction he wanted him to.

“I met this girl late last year~ She said don’t you worry if I disappear~”

And he was right. He had to leave before his idiot brother and idiot sister-in-law started an Ed Sheeran medley.

He picked up his chocolate chip waffle and strawberry milk and headed back to his room to play some Overwatch or draw or something. Anything would be better than listening to those two.

He opened the door and sat on his computer chair, completely disregarding the shirtless Yoosung on his bed.

Saeran sighed, remembering last night with mixed feelings…

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~Once upon a flashback…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi fumbled with the keys a bit before a considerably less drunk Saeyoung took over the task.

Saeran had a drunken Yoosung attached to his back, confused and unsure of exactly what to do with him.

Once they were inside, Saeyoung lifted Jangmi into his arms bridal-style. He turned to his twin and smiled.

“Saeran, carry Yoosung to your room,” he said quietly. “He can sleep in there for tonight.”

“Then where the hell am I supposed to sleep?” Saeran asked.

“Either the couch or your bedroom floor, whichever you think is more comfortable.”

“I think your bleeding corpse would be more comfortable than either of those,” Saeran muttered as he went to his room.

“I’d do necrophilia if my darling God Seven was the corpse~” Jangmi cooed, nuzzling into Saeyoung’s chest and purring like a cat. Saeran walked even faster with the horrible reminder that Jangmi was a flirty drunk. And maybe her statement freaked the flying fuck out of him.

He opened his door and slammed it behind him, locking it and turning on some music to drown out the inevitable sounds of intercourse.

He flopped facedown on his bed with Yoosung still clinging to his torso like a drunken koala.

“Heehee, Saeran smells nice…” Yoosung slurred. “Like strawberries and…and Saeran, heehee…”

Oh God.

Saeran swallowed. “Yoosung,” he said, “please let go of me.”

“Awww, okayyy…” Yoosung said, pouting. He unclung himself from the older man, but still stayed on top of him.

“Get off,” Saeran said.

Yoosung whined and rolled off Saeran, his back hitting the wall loudly. Yoosung just giggled.

Saeran lifted his head to face Yoosung. Yoosung was looking back at him, his smiling face flushed in drunkenness.

“Hi,” he breathed.

“Uh, hi?” Saeran said in confusion.

“Today’s my birthday~”

Saeran sighed, sensing that he was going to regret playing along. “Really? Didja get everything you wanted?”

“Well...almost,” Yoosung replied.

“What didn’t you ge -”

Saeran was interrupted by Yoosung’s lips on his.

After what felt like anywhere between two seconds and two hours, Yoosung leaned away with a sleepy smile. “Now I…got…err…thinn…”

And he drifted off, smile stuck on his face.

Saeran ended up not sleeping that night.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~Back in the present…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeran sat at his computer while staring at Yoosung, lost in the memory of last night.

He remembered how Yoosung smelled and tasted like the spiked punch, his violet eyes lidded. The sound of To The Moon And Back by Savage Garden was playing when they…

Saeran quickly turned toward his computer, his entire body burning.

He needed to scream. He was getting desperate.

He looked around his room frantically for something, ANYTHING worth screaming into. He picked up a pile of discarded clothing to scream into.

He realized too late that maybe that wasn’t the best idea.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: What happened last night…?

Yoosung★: WHERW AM I?!

Jumin Han: You went home with Saeran. You were drunk.

Yoosung★: What happened last noght?

saeran: Saeyoung spiked the punch.

Yoosung★: That explains so much.

*Jangmi has logged in.*

Jangmi: Good morning, RFA!

Jangmi: Oh, what a night~

*ZEN has logged in.*

ZEN: Late December back in 63~

Jangmi: What a very special time for me~

707: As I remember what a night~

Yoosung★: Mu brian hurts

ZEN: Hangover?

saeran: Hangover…

ZEN: Damn.

ZEN: At least this ensemble is better than the one I’m working with currently…

ZEN: OH SHIT

ZEN: WHERE THE FUCK IS MY MOTORCYCLE

Jumin Han: Parking garage, third floor, lot A, row1.

Jumin Han: There is a skyway connecting the main building to the garage that opens up right next to it.

*ZEN has logged out.*

707: OMG.

Jangmi: Juzen confirmed?!

Jumin Han: No. There is nothing to confirm.

707: Awww.

Jangmi: Don’t give in yet Jumin! Maybe he just needs time to recognize your feelings!

Jumin Han: No. Never.

Jangmi: Whaaat? Why not?

saeran: 50 Shades of Chairman-to-be…

Jumin Han: …

Yoosung★: lolwut

707: I am so proud of you.

Jangmi: Great minds think alike they say~

Jangmi: Wait, Jaehee’s here! Hi Jaehee!

saeran: when the hell did you get here?

Jaehee Kang: I’ve been here the whole time.

707: lol she lurkin

Jaehee Kang: To give a more specific answer to Yoosung’s question, Saeyoung spiked the punch.

Jaehee Kang: Jangmi, Zen, and Yoosung all got extremely drunk as a result.

Jaehee Kang: Then Zen started stripping and everything was a blur of dazzling wonder and Irish coffee.

Jaehee Kang: Anyway, I must be going now.

Jaehee: One of my favorite regulars just came in.

*Jaehee Kang has logged out.*

Yoosung★: REALLU?!

Yoosung★: I thoguht it was a dram…

Jangmi: Dammit Zen! Give me back my 20000000 won!

Jumin Han: It’s still in the guest room bedside table. Would you like for me to send it to you?

Jangmi: No. Sell it.

707: Don’t forget to mention that it was in Zen’s pants!

Jangmi: Saeyoung, please.

saeran: I didn’t even drink anything and I have a fucking headache thanks to you idiots.

Yoosung★: Sorry…

saeran: Yoosung, you didn’t do anything wrong here.

saeran: You didn’t spike the punch.

saeran: You didn’t strip.

saeran: You didn’t imprison a drunk celebrity in your apartment and steal his clothes.

Jumin Han: Lies and slander, I did not steal Zen’s clothes. I merely took them to get cleaned.

Jumin Han: The ones from the Christmas party still smell like him too…

saeran: I did not need to know that.

707: lol my bae is screaming

saeran: Mine’s crying.

707: lol what did u do to him

saeran: Go fuck yourself.

Jangmi: That’s my job~ ;3c

*saeran has logged out.*

*Jumin Han has logged out.*

*Yoosung★ has logged out.*

707: You know what this means, don’t you~?

Jangmi: I believe I do~

*Jangmi has logged out.*

*707 has logged out.*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~A few days later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  
Jangmi grabbed her purse and schoolbag to prepare for her study date with Cam, but first she had a few ground rules to lay down with the boys.

“Okay, I’m about to meet Cam for our study date at Jaehee’s, Yoosung said he might meet us there,” she announced. “While I’m gone, I want Saeran to clean up that barn he calls a room. Saeyoung, I want you to look into a few organizations who emailed me requesting to attend the next party, the list is by your computer. Are we clear on that, Saeyoung?”

Saeyoung saluted. “Ma’am yes ma’am!”

“And you, Saeran? Are we clear on that?”

Saeran glared. “I’m not cleaning my room. It is my fortress of solitude, and every little thing has an effect on my all-around tranquility and peace of mind.”

“I SAID ARE WE CLEAR?!” Jangmi shouted.

“Yes ma’am,” Saeran said, more quickly than he intended.

Jangmi smiled smugly before kissing Saeyoung goodbye and leaving.

The hackers were silent.

“Your fiancee scares me sometimes,” Saeran admitted.

“I know, hot isn’t it?” Saeyoung said, and idiotic grin spread across his face.

Saeran glared and went to clean his room. Well, his computer desk. It was better than nothing.

Sometime later, Jangmi had made it to Jaehee’s cafe. She chose to wait inside for Cam to make it.

Ten minutes passed. Customers came and went. Cam was not among them.

Jaehee came out to check on her.

“Have you not heard from her yet?” she asked.

Jangmi sighed sadly. “Can’t say this is the first time something like this has happened…”

“You’ve been stood up before?” Jaehee asked, eyes wide.

“A few times, yes,” Jangmi admitted. “But it’s all in the past. I can always study on my own!”

Then a phone beeped.

“Oh, it’s mine,” Jangmi said as she fished through her pocket and grabbed it.

**(16:24) Cam: Sorry I’m late! I got lost!**

**(16:25) Jangmi: It’s fine! Where are you?**

**(16:25) Cam: If I knew that I wouldn’t be lost.**

**(16:25) Jangmi: Describe your surroundings, I’ll see if I can recognize it.**

**(16:26) Cam: I’m surrounded by buildings. Red bricks, kind of industrial-ish looking. There’s a homeless guy with a guitar.**

**(16:26) Jangmi: Does the homeless man have a hat or scarf?**

**(16:26) Cam: Scarf.**

**(16:26) Jangmi: Okay. You’re 15 minutes away by foot. I’ll send directions.**

**(16:27) Cam: Why was the scarf important? ;;**

**(16:27) Jangmi: I work with someone who lives in that area. Don’t worry. Give the homeless man some money!**

**(16:28) Cam: Done. Thanks!**

**(16:28) Jangmi: Of course! I was about to call you, I was getting worried!**

**(16:28) Cam: I’m flattered, but I can take care of myself sweetcheeks.**

Fifteen minutes later, the door jingled, signaling Cam’s entry.

“Sorry ‘bout that Jangmi, I have NO sense of direction!” she said, taking her seat.

Cam looked up at Jaehee, her gold eyes widening. “Who’s your friend?” she asked, her voice unusually quiet.

Jangmi smiled. Her Shippy Senses were tingling. “Cam, this is a friend of mine from work, Jaehee Kang! Jaehee, this a classmate of mine from college, Cam Vu! She’s Vietnamese.”

“H-how do you do?” Jaehee said. She pushed a strand of her growing hair behind her ears nervously. Jangmi always thought that was really cite.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Cam said, once again unusually quiet. She was avoiding Jaehee’s eyes by staring at her twiddling fingers in her lap. Jangmi officially decided that Cam was cute as well.

And since Jangmi found Jaehee and Cam cute, and they seemed to find each other cute as well, she decided to do a trial shipment of sorts.

After Jangmi and Cam ordered their drinks - hot cocoa and a regular black coffee - they set to work.

“So,” Cam said nervously, “she the friend who lives where I got all lost?”

Jangmi giggled and shook her head. “No, different friend. Different gender…”

“Ah.”

“I take it that she -” Jangmi gestured with her head toward Jaehee, “- is more your type?”

Cam blushed, lips pouting. Jangmi smiled. That’s a definite yes~

“I understand,” Jangmi assured, putting a comforting hand on Cam’s. “I like guys and girls equally, and Jaehee IS really cute, as you can see. However, my heart is fully and completely devoted to my beloved God Seven~”

Cam stared blankly at Jangmi. “That’s the redhead that picked you up the other day, right? You said he’s your fiance?”

Jangmi smiled and nodded, blushing. “His name is Saeyoung Choi. He’s doing freelance computer programming while he and his brother Saeran accrue funds to open up a toy shop.”

The door jingled. Enter Yoosung.

“Hey, Jangmi!” he greeted as cheerfully as ever. “Is this the friend you were telling me about?”

“Yes! Yoosung, this is Cam Vu, Cam, this is another coworker of mine, Yoosung Kim. NOT the one that lives in the area you got lost in.”

“Nice to meet you!” Cam greeted. It took a bit for everything to get arranged for three people, but once it was managed, they cracked down hard and studied.

Jangmi still couldn’t help but wonder about her boys, though…

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeyoung had already finished his “chores”, so he was working some on his and Saeran’s little project. He crossed a few named off the notepad, sighing as he rubbed his eyes. Less of them than he’d thought…

*Saeyoungie, it’s your fiancee~ Pick up the phone~ You know you want to~*

Saeyoung perked up instantly. He KNEW using Jangmi’s voice as a personalized ringtone was a brilliant idea the second Saeran sarcastically suggested it.

He answered after listening to his fiancee’s voice go over once in its entirety.

“Beep. Beep. Beep. The number you have reached is not in service. Please hang up or call again, or say ‘Help me God Seven!’ for more options.”

Jangmi gasped on the other end. _“Oh no! Help me God Seven!”_

Saeyoung chuckled. She was so good to him to play along like this. “You have reached God Seven! What is it you ask of his vast knowledge~?”

_“I wish to inquire of God Seven how his work is going, if I may!”_ Jangmi said.

“Well, my beloved Goddess Six, I have finished my tasks! I am still working to get more information on one particular organization, but I the rest are all clean, if on the up-and-up!”

_“Good! I will enquire you about more details when I return. And how is Saeran’s duty progressing?”_

“I will go check right now!” Saeyoung said enthusiastically, standing up to go check up on Saeran.

Once he reached Saeran’s room, he knocked and opened the door to the usual mess. But his computer desk was shockingly immaculate. At least something was clean…

The brothers stared at each other, stunned.

“Wow Saeran!” Saeyoung mused. “Not bad! It’s pretty good, Jangmi!”

_“Good! I’ll be home in an hour. Yoosung will be joining me as well since Jaehee has a date.”_

“Ooh, Jaehee has a date?” Saeyoung said. “Who with~?”

_“Cam showed a mutual interest in her, and they’re going on a date tonight!” Jangmi said, practically squealing. “I’ve asked Jaehee to let me know how it goes afterward.”_

“Okay! I should get back to work, you have fun my darling~”

_“That I will, my sweet~ I love you, Saeyoungie!”_

“I love you too, Jangmi!” And with that Saeyoung blew a kiss into the phone and hung up.

Saeyoung turned to Saeran with a hands on his hip, using the. other to push up his glasses.

“Well, brother. Looks like I’m going to have to help you clean this place up…”

“I’m gonna owe you for this aren’t I?” Saeran grimbled.

Saeyoung merely chickled in response and set to work. “I’ll lower your debts if you do half or more. Fair?”

“Deal.”

“And if you do 66 percent or more, I’ll grant you and Yoosung the house to yourselves~” Saeyoung added mischievously.

Saeran grimaced at his brother. Sometimes he couldn’t tell if Saeyoung was mocking him or being supportive in a very humiliating way. At times like this he wondered why he bothered coming out in the first place…

He was still going to aim for 66 percent or more.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“I still can’t believe that everyone except me has a girlfriend!” Yoosung lamented as he entered the Choi family bunker with Jangmi.

“What about Zen and Jumin though?” Jangmi pointed out. “They don’t have girlfriends either. And Saeran is still still very much single. If anything, CamHee and SaeJang are in the minority!”

“Jangmi, Jumin and Zen don’t count since they’re clearly into each other,” Yoosung said.

“Well in my eyes they still sort of count because they’re visiting Egypt together,” Jangmi countered.

Yoosung stared at her blankly. “Wha…?”

“They’re in denial, Yoosung. And if they don’t get out soon, the crocodiles are get ‘em,” Jangmi explained. “Saeyoung! Saeran! I’m home! And I caught a wild Yoosung!”

“Really? All got’s another stupid Oddish…” Saeyoung said, walking in from the kitchen. “Yoosung~ How was your day?”

“WHY IS EVERYONE BUT ME DATING SOMEONE?!”

“Ah, same ol’ same ol’ I see,” Saeyoung said seriously. “Worry not, the day shall come where you too find a mate. Then we shall see a squad of miniature Yoosungs trailing you like ducklings at an RFA party someday…”

“But once Saeran figures out how to clone things, Yoosung won’t even need a mate!” Jangmi said. “And then there’s my shrink ray!”

“Right you are, my precious~”

Yoosung was starting to get slightly uncomfortable. He excused himself to look for Saeran. Luckily, Saeran was in his room as per usual.

Yoosung knocked on the door and went inside. Saeran was on his computer working on something, presumably .

“Hey, Saeran!” the gamer greeted. “I see you cleaned up!”

“Sup,” Saeran replied.

“Jaehee has a girlfriend, Jumin and Zen are dense morons, and your siblings either want to clone me or shrink me.”

“Nothing new there except for Jaehee getting a girlfriend,” Saeran said.

“Well… yeah…” Yoosung admitted. “But Jaehee’s girlfriend! Her name’s Cam Vu, and she’s reeeal nice.”

Saeran hummed. He seemed lost in thought. “So, uh…do you remember anything about what happened after your birthday party…?”

“No? Nothing between that third glass of spiked punch and waking up here…” Yoosung answered. “Why?”

Saeran sighed. “No reason. Just…forget I asked, okay?”

Yoosung was concerned by the redhead’s tone, but knew that prying would make him shut down.

“Okay, if you say so…what’re you working on?”

“Personal. Saeyoung’s helping.”

Yoosung thought briefly. Then he smiled brightly. “Okay then! Just let me know if there’s anything I can do to help!”

Saeran turned to stare at him, eyes widened. Then he turned back to his work. “Sure, whatever.”

Yoosung smiled. He knew that he couldn’t do as much as the other members still, but he could at least offer support.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- .... . / -... . . --..-- / --- ..-. / -.-. --- ..- .-. ... . --..-- / ..-. .-.. .. . ... / .- -. -.-- .-- .- -.-- / -... . -.-. .- ..- ... . / -... . . ... / -.. --- / -. --- - / -.-. .- .-. . / .-- .... .- - / .... ..- -- .- -. ... / - .... .. -. -.- / .. ... / .--. --- ... ... .. -... .-.. . .-.-.-


	4. 00110100

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plot happens, Jaehee is oblivious, Jumin Han does is gay, and Yoosung is traumatized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 00110101 00110000 00100000 01010011 01101000 01100001 01100100 01100101 01110011 00100000 01001111 01100110 00100000 01001010 01110101 01101101 01101001 01101110 00100000 01001000 01100001 01101110

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi followed Saeyoung to his office and sat on Saeyoung’s lap after he’d taken his seat.

“So? Anything on that last group?” Jangmi asked.

“Yeah,” Saeyoung replied. “Lynx Industries. They’re not exactly trustworthy, lots of underhanded dealings. I’ve got an IP address, plus a list of their highest-paying clients.” Saeyoung swallowed a lump in his throat, Jangmi pointedly avoiding staring at his adam’s apple.

“Is it bad…?” Jangmi asked, voice quiet. She pushed a bit of her fiancee’s shaggy red hair out of his eyes.

Saeyoung nodded, putting his head on Jangmi’s shoulder and wrapping his arms around her. Jangmi wrapped her arms around him as well.

“Anyone we know?” she asked.

“Not exactly,” Saeyoung said. “But considering some of the names, we can’t do much about it…”

“What do you mean by ‘not exactly’?” Jangmi asked.

“Chuwon Lee was one of the names,” Saeyoung said, almost too quickly for Jangmi to catch.

“Chuwon Lee…?”

Saeyoung nodded. “My father.”

Jangmi tightened her hold on her beloved. She kissed him on the cheek and rubbed his back. He wasn’t crying or panicking, but she had a feeling that he needed the affection.

“I knew he was worse than he seemed, but something like this…” Jangmi said. Saeyoung merely hummed in response. “Have you or Saeran managed to find more names on that other project?”

Saeyoung shook his head. “We had to take a few off the list. We’re down to two names, not including our own…”

Jangmi whined in sympathy. She wasn’t sure what else to do.

So she decided to help Saeyoung take his mind off of his work for a while.

She peppered kisses up and down his neck and jaw, stopping just before she reached his mouth. She smiled lustily at him before whispering in his ear.

“Would God Seven like to take some time away from his godly duties?” she breathed, her hand travelling down to the hem of his shirt. “Goddess Six can assure him that her services will provide him with only the utmost pleasure. All for him, and no one else. Shall my God Seven allow himself this pleasure? Shall he allow his Goddess Six to pleasure him for to renew his energies for another day?”

Saeyoung shuddered as Jangmi’s nails lightly ran across his abdomen and chest. She removed his shirt. Her words had ignited a fire - unleashed a beast. Once his shirt was removed and his beloved goddess’ words spoken, he lifted her bridal-style and carried her to their quarters, placing her on their bed on her back. He crawled above her on all fours.

He stroked her face before placing his lips to hers, tongue begging for entry. As entry was granted, he removed his jeans, only boxer briefs remaining.

Saeyoung released Jangmi’s mouth from his own, a string of their mingled saliva still connecting their happy, gasping faces.

Jangmi removed her sweater and skirt, not once breaking her lust-filled gaze from Saeyoung’s own.

The sound of a squeak and their bedroom door slamming crushed the mood under the bootheels of circumstance.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yoosung ran back to Saeran’s room, thoroughly traumatized and maybe slightly aroused, but that could also be nausea, he really wasn’t sure.

Saeran watched as the blond flopped himself facedown onto his bed.

“Those two were about to bang, weren’t they?” Saeran stated rather than asked, his tone sympathetic to the younger man’s trauma.

“I just wanted some ice cream and all I got was porn…” Yoosung whined.

“That statement is pretty much my entire life since I started living with those two,” Saeran sighed. “I’m honestly surprised Jangmi’s not pregnant yet…”

Yoosung whimpered pathetically into the pillow.

“Okay, I’ll stop now. I know she’s on the pill anyway.”

Yoosung screamed into the pillow in agony.

“Okay, now I’ll stop,” Saeran said.

The two sat in silence, interspersed by the sounds of typing.

“So…” Saeran began, “what do you wanna do?”

“LOLOL,” Yoosung replied instantly.

“Okay,” Saeran said, moving from his computer to his laptop and sitting on the bed next to Yoosung.

Yoosung sat up, his face still burning from the incident he’d seen.

He watched as Saeran opened the URL and went to the log in, handing Yoosung the laptop.

Yoosung looked up at him, only for him to suddenly avert his gaze toward the wall for a bit before reaching under his bed for his sketchbook. He came back up and thumbed through the book until he came to a blank page and picked a pencil to draw with.

Yoosung watched as he began to sketch what looked like the shape of a human head.

Saeran glanced up at him and maneuvered the sketchbook so that the pages were hidden from Yoosung’s line of sight.

Yoosung pouted a bit before returning to the world of LOLOL.

Saeran sighed internally and continued to quietly - secretly - sketch Yoosung’s excited face as he navigated the game.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~The next day…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: Another Day Another Rehearsal

ZEN: Wow, it’s been awhile since I’ve been alone in the chat…

ZEN: Oh well…

ZEN: Time to spam the chat with last night’s selfies lololol

*Jumin Han has logged in.*

Jumin Han: Please don’t.

ZEN: lol sorry, I saw the words please do~

Jumin Han: Can you not read?

ZEN: [mewithabeer147.jpg]

ZEN: [meafterworkout286.jpg]

ZEN: [mewithcostarspug.jpg]

Jumin Han: So you can snuggle a pug but not my Elizabeth the 3rd?

ZEN: [mewithmymiddlefinger96.jpg]

ZEN: Four more and I’ll celebrate with TWO middle fingers.

*Jaehee Kang has logged in.*

Jaehee Kang: Is it Zen’s Selfie Sunday already?

Jumin Han: It’s Saturday.

Jaehee Kang: Then something good must have happened.

ZEN: Yep ~

ZEN: The crappy ensemble has finally been replaced!

ZEN: The new guys are actually not bad…

Jumin Han: You’re welcome.

ZEN: I take everything back. Go fuck yourself, Trust Fund Douche.

ZEN: I gotta go, costar’s asking to go over lines with me before she leaves.

*ZEN has logged out.*

Jaehee Kang: …

Jaehee Kang: Do you want me to save those selfies?

Jumin Han: Photoshop Elizabeth the 3rd over that dog when you do, Assistant Kang.

Jumin Han: Sorry, Jaehee.

Jaehee Kang: The backspace button exists for a reason Jumin.

Jaehee Kang: And no I am not going back. My business is doing fine.

Jumin Han: I am aware.

Jumin Han: Just know that the option to return is always open should you choose to return.

Jaehee Kang: Should something occur, I will keep your offer in mind.

Jaehee Kang: Thank you, Jumin.

Jumin Han: Of course.

Jumin Han: I must be going now. I am due for dinner with my father shortly.

Jumin Han: Goodbye, Jaehee.

Jaehee Kang: Goodbye, Jumin. I will see you on Sunday.

*Jumin Han has logged out.*  
*Jaehee Kang has logged out.*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~A few days later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Zen was waltzing with a young woman with red curls down to her waist and green eyes. They seemed to be gazing into each other’s eyes.

They stopped.

“Oh! I must go!” the woman said.

“Oh, but it’s only midnight!” Zen replied. “We only just met!”

“I know…” the woman said sadly. “I would love to stay, really I would! But I have to leave NOW or something terrible will happen!” The woman let go and stepped away, panic in her eyes as she turned away from Zen. “I’m very sorry…Oh!” The woman seemed to realize something. She turned back toward Zen. “But I have to ask something of you first - something very important!”

Zen’s face grew desperate. “Yes, anything!”

The woman’s face sobered somewhat. “Please, try to see how you are affecting your kingdom,” she said, her voice serious. “People are starving and losing their homes. Please, help them. That’s all I ask…” The woman gasped. “I have to go!”

She ran off. Zen watched in awe.

“I’ve never had someone speak so truthfully about my kingdom before…” he said in awe. His face hardened with resolve. “I must find her!”

“Aaaand, cut! Amazing as always, Zen! Miss Kwon, you did wonderfully! Your dancing was a tad stiff, but otherwise you were flawless! Everyone, you can go on home now!”

Zen relaxed immediately, breathing heavily. The redheaded woman, apparently Miss Kwon, returned with two water bottles, a quilted tote bag slung over her shoulder.

“Here, Zen,” she said. “You look like you’re about to drop!”

“Thanks, Miss Kwon!” he said gratefully.

“It’s no trouble at all!” the woman replied. “And please, call me Rina!”

“Ah, okay then! Thank you Rina!”

Rina snorted. “You know, if you keep talking to me like that, people will think we’re dating…”

“If that happens, we’ll deny it,” Zen said with a shrug. “It’s not even like that anyway…”

“Good luck convincing the press of THAT,” Rina said sarcastically. Zen laughed in response.

“Do you even date people?” Zen asked, genuinely curious.

“Nah, not really my thing,” Rina said, shaking her head. “Never really wanted that sort of thing with anyone. I think the word is asexual…?”

“Huh,” Zen said. “I know a guy like that. Everyone jokes about him being gay, but he’s probably just ace.”

“That might be,” Rina said. “What about you? What’s your reason for not seeing anyone?”

“I’ve been too busy with work,” Zen sighed. “I’m probably bi, though…”

“Probably?” Rina asked, quirking an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Zen scratched behind his head and glanced around. “I’m not comfortable talking about that here…”

“I getcha.”

“Thanks…”

Rina smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Just let me know if you wanna talk.” She dug into her bag and gave him an index card. “Here’s my number. Just call or text if you ever need anything!”

“Okay, thanks!”

“It’s no trouble at all!” Rina replied with a smile. “I’ll be bringing Bernadette with me next time!”

“Great! Can’t wait!” Zen said.

After Zen waved Rina goodbye, he left and checked his phone.

**(16:32) saeran: u have a show with rina kwon coming up**

**(19:57) ZEN: Yes?  
(19:57) ZEN: Why? You a fan?**

**(19:58) saeran: do i look like i watch musicals to u**

**(19:58) ZEN: idk man, I never hung around emos much.**

**(19:58) saeran: im not emo u twat  
(19:58) saeran: i just like black clothes and rock music**

**(19:58) ZEN: Fits the criteria to me lol  
(19:59) ZEN: Don’t you also blow up a lot?**

**(19:59) saeran: i have borderline personality disorder**

**(20:00) ZEN: Shit, I forgot, sorry.**

**(20:00) saeran: figured  
(20:00) saeran: last big outburst was last years christmas party**

**(20:01) ZEN: Wait, why do you want to know about Rina Kwon anyway?**

**(20:03) saeran: nvm cnt txt gtg**

Zen stared at his phone. What was up with this guy? He tried calling Saeyoung, only to get straight to voicemail. Same with Jangmi. Jaehee let her phone ring - she was probably out with that Cam girl with her phone on silent. Yoosung didn't answer either.

Zen didn’t want to have to resort to this. He really didn’t. But right now he had no choice.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jumin had just returned home from dinner with his father - and his father’s latest girlfriend. Jumin sometimes wondered if his mother knew about her husband's philandering ways.

Jumin was too tired to do his nightly routine - thank god it was Saturday night. No work tomorrow.

Wait, scratch that. The weekly RFA meeting was tomorrow afternoon.

He could wait until tomorrow, right?

No he couldn’t.

He went into the bathroom to draw a bath. He stripped off his shirt and pants and had his hands in the waistband of his boxers when his cell phone rang.

Jumin sighed wearily. He could not catch a break today, could he?

He picked up his phone from the bathroom counter and checked the caller ID.

Zen. Jumin’s heart started beating just a bit faster.

He answered the phone. “Hello?”

_“Hey, do you have any idea why Saeran would ask me about Rina Kwon?”_

Jumin narrowed his eyes, even though there was no Zen to narrow them at. “No. Why do you think I would know such a thing? I don't even know who that is.”

_“I didn’t,”_ Zen replied, his voice becoming slightly more confrontational. _“I tried calling literally everyone else in the RFA, but you’re the only one who answered.”_

“What if I hadn’t answered?” Jumin asked, sitting on the edge of the counter. “What would you have done then?”

_“I dunno, try calling everyone again in the morning?”_ Zen replied. He was starting to get annoyed, but he wasn’t hanging up.

“Hmm. Well, how was rehearsal this evening?” Jumin asked, hoping he sounded calmer than his heart felt.

_“Fine,”_ Zen replied casually. _“We finished rehearsing the first act and I got Rina’s number.”_

Jumin thought he felt his heart drop from his chest to his gut. “Really.”

_“Yep~”_ Zen sang. _“We won’t be dating or anything, since she’s not interested in that sort of thing…”_

Jumin relaxed. “Oh. Well, I’m glad rehearsals went well. I will see you tomorrow.”

_“Okay, Mr. Trust Fund, what’s wrong?”_ Zen sighed in exasperation.

Jumin quirked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

_“Your voice gets all tense and clipped when you’re stressed,”_ Zen explained. Jumin heard a clicking sound in the background - Zen probably just got home. _“Now tell me what’s up.”_

Jumin was silent. What would he say? The truth? Or half the truth?

The first option was chosen seemingly against his will.

He sighed. “I was at dinner with my father and his most recent paramour.”

_“I_ _have a feeling I know what this is all about, but keep going.”_

Jumin paused, pursing his lips. “As I was saying, I was at dinner with my father and his new girlfriend. Once I left I began to think.”

_“A_   _dangerous pastime,”_ Zen snarked.

Jumin couldn’t help but smile a bit despite himself. “I know.”

_“What_ _did you start thinking about?”_ Zen asked.

“I began wondering what my mother would think if she were here. Then I realized that…” Jumin sighed. “Maybe she left to travel the world because she did know. Maybe this is her way of leaving without truly leaving. Who knows.”

The line was silent.

_“Damn,”_ Zen said.   _"Your_   _parents are still married?”_

Jumin cocked an eyebrow. “Yes? Why, is that odd?”

_“Nah, I’m just amazed that your dad is just that bad at keeping it in his pants.”_

“Believe me, so am I at times. I still have nightmares about that incident at my ninth birthday party…” Jumin said, a shudder running through him at the memory.

_“I_   _am so sorry,”_ Zen said, his voice genuinely sympathetic. _“Your old man REALLY needs a cold shower.”_

“He needs to be tossed into the Arctic Ocean,” Jumin snarked.

Zen laughed. Jumin smiled wider than he had in awhile.

They talked for hours. By the time they hung up, the bath was room-temperature.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~The next day…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  
Saeyoung and Saeran were at their computers, having stayed up for two nights in a row double-checking everything they’d uncovered to see that there were for certain no mistakes, that they were definitely seeing what they thought they were seeing and not hallucinating.

Reality, however, is often stranger than fiction. And more terrifying.

“So,” Saeran began. “This has been going since the Cold War.”

“Political and military leaders from both the Eastern and Western Blocs were involved without any of them knowing,” Saeyoung said.

“And it’s still going,” Saeran laughed. “A…whatever the fuck this is that should’ve ended 25 years ago is STILL going strong…”

“And no one knows except us and them,” Saeyoung ended. “But they don’t know we know. They don’t even know we exist”

Both brothers groaned in unison as Jangmi entered the room with her bag slung over her shoulder.

She glanced between them.

“The RFA meeting is today, and we have to leave now if we wanna make it on time,” she said.

They groaned even louder.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jaehee, Jumin, Zen, and Yoosung sat in the conference room waiting for the Choi clan.

“So, Jaehee…” Zen began. “You have a girlfriend?”

Jaehee placed her head in her hands her elbows on the table in her exasperation. “I cannot help but sigh…” she said. “First Jangmi, now YOU?”

“But you haven’t answered us!” Yoosung moaned. “Are and Cam dating or NOT?”

“What are you people going on about?” Jumin asked.

“Yoosung, Cam and I are not dating,” Jaehee sighed. “We went on one date and enjoyed it, and we plan on another, but we are not dating in any sense of the word.”

The group was quiet.

“Um,” Yoosung interrupted. “I know I have no experience, but doesn’t that usually mean that you’re dating?”

“That it does Yoosung, that it does,”Zen said.

“Are you all ignoring me?” Jumin said, starting to get testy.

“Yes we are Jerkmin, now tell me about her!” Zen said.

“Hey hey, party people!” Jangmi sang as she, Saeran and Saeyoung entered the conference room. “So are we talking about Jaehee’s new girlfriend?”

“She is not my girlfriend Jangmi,” Jaehee sighed.

“I was just trying to get her to tell me more about her!” Zen said.

“Ooh, I can do that!” Jangmi said. “Her name is Cam Vu, she’s Vietnamese and majoring in nursing, she’s HELLA gayhee for Jaehee -”

“Hey, I said that first!” Saeyoung whined.

“Can I leave now please?” Jaehee whimpered.

“No, the meeting is starting,” Jumin said. “Now, does anyone have any potential guests?”

“Me!” Zen said, raising his hand. “You guys know how I’m playing Prince Topher in Cinderella?”

“How could we not when you remind us every thirty seconds?” Saeran snarked.

“I didn’t know the prince had a name…” Yoosung said.

“Yoosung, that’s Disney, we’re doing Rodgers and Hammerstein,” Zen said. “But the actress playing Cinderella, Rina Kwon, is really talented and nice.”

“Please tell me she’s gay,” Jangmi said, seeming slightly tense.

“Asexual. So we should totally invite her to the party! All in favor?”

Everyone except Jumin raised their hands. Jumin seemed irritated more than anything else.

“Majority rules!” Jangmi announced. “Zen, send me her contacts so I can get in touch with her?”

“You got it!” Zen said. “I’ll tell her to expect your response.”

“Okay then,” Jumin interrupted. “Anyone else?”

“Let’s invite Mira again!” Saeyoung offered excitedly.

“Ooh, yes! I agree!” Jangmi said with equal fervor. “All in favor?”

Saeyoung and Jangmi raised their hands, as did Saeran and Yoosung.

“We need a tiebreaker!” Jangmi announced, her hand not lowering in the slightest.

Zen raised his hand. “I wanna ask her if she wants to be in an upcoming production of Aida i was offered.”

“Majority rules!” Jangmi chimed once more.

Saeyoung sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “I love democracy…”

“Korea is a constitutional republic…” Jumin muttered.

And so the meeting continued on.

It got boring fast.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~The next day that was actually so late at night as to be two days later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeyoung and Jangmi had just finished watching a movie. Saeyoung moved to take the DVD from the player when Jangmi grabbed his wrist.

He turned to face her, eyes wide. She was blushing.

“You know, we never really finished what we were doing on Friday…”

Saeyoung was still.

Then he lifted Jangmi bridal-style and carried her to their room.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -. --- / .-. . --. .-. . - ...


	5. 00110101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jangmi gets character development, Saeran gets trolled by a twelve-year-old, and Saeyoung just wants his fiancee to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 01011001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01100010 01100101 01101100 01101001 01100101 01110110 01100101 00100000 01101000 01101111 01110111 00100000 01101101 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01110100 01110010 01101111 01110101 01100010 01101100 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100111 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01101101 01100101 00101110 00100000 00100000 01001111 01101000 00100000 01110111 01100101 01101100 01101100 00101110 00100000 00100000 01001001 01110100 00100111 01110011 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 01100101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00101110

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

When Saeyoung woke up Jangmi was sitting up in her spot on their bed, staring wide-eyed at her phone.

She almost seemed scared.

Saeyoung sat up and hugged her, placing his head on her shoulder and looking up at her with his best puppydog eyes.

When he realized that it wasn’t working, he blew onto her neck.

Jangmi jumped, letting out a squeak and sending her phone flying into the air. Thankfully it landed on the bed unharmed.

Jangmi glared at Saeyoung before reaching for her phone. She sighed as she returned to her previous pose.

Okay, this was worrisome.

“Jangmi, is everything okay?” Saeyoung asked.

Jangmi looked at Saeyoung for a moment and sighed.

“My mother is coming to visit from Daeju,” she said. “My sister too. They’re coming to stay over for the weekend.”

Saeyoung paused. He hadn’t heard Jangmi talk much about her family other than in passing. And this seemed like a bad thing, that her mother was coming.

“Okay,” he said. “Would you like to talk about it?”

“What is there to talk about?” Jangmi snapped. “My mother is coming for a visit, that’s it.”

“And that right there is why,” Saeyoung said. “This is clearly upsetting you. If you don’t want to talk about it right now, that’s fine. Just know I will be right here to listen when you’re ready.”

Jangmi turned to look at her fiancee. Saeyoung placed a hand on her cheek. She leaned into the touch, placing her hand on his.

“My mother…” Jangmi started. “She’s…not the nicest of people. She never raised a hand toward me or my sister, but she did say a lot of hurtful things. She still does, actually.”

Saeyoung pulled Jangmi into his embrace. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, letting herself drift off once more.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yoosung had just gotten out of anatomy when his phone rang many times in succession.

**(10:36) saeran: have u ever had one of those days where u just  
(10:37) saeran: dont feel like anything  
(10:37) saeran: like u dont even know if u really exist**

**(10:37) Yoosung★: im so sorry u feel like that! TAT  
(10:37) Yoosung★: do u want me to come over?**

**(10:38) saeran: ok i guess**

**(10:38) Yoosung★: ok! (⌒▽⌒)  
(10:38) Yoosung★: ill be right over!**

**(10:39) saeran: but u have class**

**(10:47) Yoosung★: just got on the subway lol**

**(10:47) saeran: u really want 2 skip class dont u**

**(10:48) Yoosung★: ya**

**(10:48) saeran: god dammit yoosung**

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~Twenty minutes later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Yoosung stood outside the Choi family bunker, only slightly regretting having chosen to skip his last few classes of the day.

*Say, “God Seven has the best fiancee in the cosmos” in Arabic.*

“Just let me IN, Saeyoung!” Yoosung whined. “I have Dr. Pepper!”

“What kind~?” said Saeyoung from the other end of the intercom.

“It’s not diet, now LET ME IIIN!” the blond sobbed desperately.

“Saeyoung, let him in, he’s crying and he has Dr. Pepper!” Jangmi said.

“Okay, fine…”

Once the gate was opened, Yoosung ran in, opened the front door, and fell down on all fours, gasping for breath and sobbing.

Saeyoung and Jangmi watched him, unsure of what to do. It was like watching a train wreck. A very adorable train wreck with little if any direction in life.

“Saeran is in his room if that’s why you’re here,” Jangmi said.

Yoosung’s sobs stopped abruptly. He sniffled and stood up putting on his best smile before walking down the hall, the titters of the couple behind him unregistered.

He knocked on the door before opening it - Saeran told him that he didn’t have to, he was welcome at any time, but it was a force of habit that Yoosung was not about to let go of anytime soon.

The lights were completely off. Saeran was curled up in a ball on his bed, blanket balled up on the ground. The blanket that Jangmi had knitted was still at the foot of his bed, if out of place.

Saeran looked up to face Yoosung. His eyes were bloodshot, dark circles prominent. He was paler than usual.

Yoosung wanted to cry looking at him. But he knew Saeran wouldn’t like that.

He draped the knit blanket over Saeran’s shoulders, crossing it in front of him.

“I’m going to get you some water, okay?” Yoosung said. “I’ll be right back.”

As he turned to leave and get some water, he felt a bony hand grab at his wrist weakly.

Yoosung turned to face Saeran. The redhead was clearly trying not to look at him.

They were silent.

“Do you want me to stay here?” Yoosung asked quietly. Saeran said nothing, only nodding in confirmation.

Yoosung smiled and sat on the bed, facing Saeran and crossing his legs. “What do you wanna do?” he asked.

Saeran scooted closer to him until they were touching. He leaned his head on Yoosung’s shoulder, closing his eyes.

Yoosung was burning. What did people do in situations like this?

Yoosung chose to follow his instincts, wrapping his arms around Saeran.

Saeran moved so he was on Yoosung’s lap, being cradled and comforted.

Yoosung Kim was in shutdown mode. And it would take awhile for him to restart.

Not that he really minded at the moment.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Zen was at lunch with Rina and, by some weird coincidence, Jumin.

They were quiet for the first ten minutes.

“So, Jumin,” Zen said. “What brings you here?”

“Driver Kim brought me here,” the heir said.

“That is NOT what I MEANT, Trust Fund!” Zen snapped. “I meant WHY are you here?”

“Because I felt like it,” Jumin said with a shrug.

Something about both the way Jumin spoke and the way he was sitting did not sit well with Zen.

“Your dad with a girl again?” Zen asked.

Jumin sighed. All the confirmation Zen required was contained in that sigh.

“That’s rough buddy,” Zen said, leaning back in his seat.

“I understand somewhat,” Rina said. “My mother brought home a new man every other night, almost. I never knew my father, and I don’t even think my mother knows who he was.”

“Damn,” Zen said. Jumin hummed.

“It’s never been a big deal to me,” Rina dismissed with a shrug. “But one thing I do know is that I got the guy’s hair. So if nothing else, I at least know the guy was a redhead.”

“An optimistic way of looking at it, that’s for certain,” Jumin said, sipping his lemon water.

“So your hair is natural?” Zen asked, intrigued.

“Yep,” Rina said, popping the consonant on the end.

“Interesting…” Jumin remarked to himself.

Zen looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

He’d have to ask about that later. For now, he was just going to enjoy this not-exactly-a-date with a not-exactly-a-third-wheel.

He screamed internally once he realized what he’d thought.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi was starting to get a little worried. She and Saeyoung hadn’t heard from Saeran or Yoosung in a while.

She decided to check in on them.

She walked down the hall to Saeran’s room, and knocked on the door.

She opened the door.

Saeran and Yoosung were cuddling on the bed together. Sort of. Saeran was actually asleep tightly wrapped in a blanket burrito and Yoosung looked like he’d smoked something amazing that he prabably shouldn’t have.

Jangmi knew EXACTLY what to do.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: I AM TRASH

Jangmi: lol check it

Jangmi: [yooran.jpg]

Jangmi: Ain’t they cuuute~?

Jaehee Kang: Jangmi;;;

ZEN: I’m getting a John and Yoko vibe here…

*707 has logged in.*

707: But we actually LIKE these two together. No WAY they’re John and Yoko!

Jangmi: Yeah!

ZEN: Yeah, but the pose;;;

Jangmi: It’s gayer than Jumin Han.

*Jumin Han has logged in.*

Jumin Han: For the last time, I am not gay.

707: Okay then. More HOMOSEXUAL than Jumin Han!

Jumin Han: -_-

Jangmi: More real-life yaoi than Jumin Han?

Jaehee Kang: More distinctly non-heterosexual than Jumin Han.

Jangmi: Jaehee, no one in the RFA is straight.

Jumin Han: All of you are fired.

707: Please don’t fire me I have a wife and child

Jangmi: I’m the wife Saeran’s the child

ZEN: We don’t even work for you.

Jaehee Kang: This is the second time you’ve fired me, Jumin. I think you might have a problem.

Jumin Han: Why must you people torture me so.

707: Because you’re gay and I want pancakes.

Jangmi: Because you’re gay and I want pancakes too.

ZEN: Pancake party at the Choi house lol

*saeran has logged in.*

saeran: You came into my domain and you will die a horrible death.

ZEN: I would make a sexy corpse…

Jumin Han: We need you alive.

707: Jumin Han prefers live dick, it seems.

Jaehee Kang: There’s a sentence I hoped I would never read.

707: but

707: you

707: expected

707: it?

Jaehee Kang: So how is everyone?

Jangmi: Remember last year when Jumin called Yoosung’s mom?

saeran: Trust Fund Bitch did what?

*Yoosung★ has logged in.*

Yoosung★: Hey everyone ^^

saeran: Did Jumin Han call your mom last year?

Yoosung★: Oh!

Yoosung★: Yeah, he did…

Yoosung★: I was SO PISSED at him!

Yoosung★: But it turned out to be worth it…

ZEN: Dude.

ZEN: He called your mother on you.

saeran: Jumin Han, I hope you have a good chiropractor because I’m about toojfrehckqurgkcwehrng hrtwbr,gcmbo g

*saeran has logged out.*  
*Yoosung★ has logged out.*

707: …

707: Gotta go, we’re cleaning house for Jangmi’s mother!

*707 has logged out.*

Jangmi: So long suckers.

*Jangmi has logged out.*

Jaehee Kang: I must be going. Cam is coming by to pick me up in ten minutes, and I want to get ready.

Jaehee Kang: And with that…

*Jaehee Kang has logged out.*

ZEN: You leave first.

Jumin Han: No, you.

ZEN: No, you!

Jumin Han: If you insist.

*Jumin Han has logged out.*

ZEN: Did this fucker just do that.

ZEN: Oh well…

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~A week later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi and Saeyoung were at the train station to meet Jangmi’s mother. They were sweating from nerves.

Jangmi was wearing a knit pastel pink turtleneck and a long burgundy skirt with black mules.

Saeyoung was wearing a white button down and jeans with black sneakers.

They stood next to each other nervously. They didn’t dare hold hands from fear that Jangmi’s mother was about, unseen in the crowd, even though it was around half the usual size.

Jangmi grabbed her fiancee’s hand. Both calmed down almost instantly.

“Jangmi-unnie!”

Jangmi perked up instantly. She started waving the hand that wasn’t attached to Saeyoung in the air like she just didn’t care.

A young middle school girl in a uniform comprised of a white shirt with a dark green ribbon, grey vest, dark green skirt, black socks, and brown shoes with brown pigtails and brown eyes ran up, nearly causing Jangmi to fall over with the force of her hug.

Jangmi returned the hug and nuzzled her sister. Saeyoung nearly had a heart attack from the sheer cuteness.

He cleared his throat to calm himself so as not to seem like a total creep. “So, ah…this is your sister, I take it?”

“Yep!” Jangmi replied, placing the girl at her side and draping an arm over her shoulder. “Saeyoung, this is my sister Nari! Nari, this is my fiancee, Saeyoung Choi!”

Nari gasped. “It's nice to meet you, Saeyoung-gun!”

“Please, no need to be so formal!” Saeyoung said with a smile.

Nari shrugged. “Okay, if you insist, Saeyoung-oppa.”

“Much better!” Saeyoung said.

Nari turned to her sister. “Unnie, you’re fiancee is a weirdo,” she said.

Jangmi simply smiled and shrugged. “I know! It’s part of his charm~”

“Um, Jangmi,” Saeyoung said, “didn’t you say that your mother was also coming…?”

“I escaped!” Nari replied, beaming.

Jangmi looked at the youth in horror. “Nari…have you a death wish…?”

“I’m not in high school yet, so no,” Nari replied.

Jangmi whimpered. “Why oh why must our names be so ironic…?”

Saeyoung rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb to calm her down. Nari rubbed her back to the same end.

“How can you stand her, Saeyoung-oppa?” Nari sighed.

“I dunno, how can she stand me?” Saeyoung asked.

“Because she’s a weirdo,” Nari replied.

“That makes both of us then,” Saeyoung sighed.

“You two do realize that I can hear you, right?” Jangmi said.

“And who is this young man with my daughters?”

Jangmi and Nari tensed and turned toward the source of the voice.

A woman with short brown hair with a gray skunk stripe and dark brown eyes stood with a suitcase in hand. She wore a white shirt with a brown pinafore dress and brown shoes.

Jangmi managed to snap out of her nerves and cleared her throat.

“Mother,” she began nervously, “this is Saeyoung Choi, the man I told you about. Saeyoung, this is my mother, Eunju Shin.”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Saeran waited at the door with his best sweater on over a white buttondown and jeans.

They should have been here fifteen minutes ago.

Maybe they finally abandoned him…

Then his phone went off. He debated with himself whether or not to answer.

He answered.

**(12:46) 707: Sorry Saeran, but Jangmi’s mother insisted that we eat lunch before going to the house and I had to have help from Jangmi’s sister to escape to the bathroom to send u this…  
(12:46) 707: I’m so sorry…**

**(12:47) saeran: if ur sorry then stop apologizing and get back safe  
(12:47) saeran: idiot**

**(12:47) 707: I will!  
(12:47) 707: See u in an hour~**

Saeran sighed and put away his phone.

An hour of no idiot brother and idiot brother’s idiot fiancee.

Time to game.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The group sat at the outdoor table with their drinks, waiting for their food in icy silence. Jangmi thought she would puke any minute.

Eunju glared at Saeyoung. Saeyoung managed to keep a straight face.

“So,” Eunju said, “what are your intentions toward my daughter?”

“Marriage,” Saeyoung replied seriously and instantly. “And while I am aware that that is not the reason you have here, I will ask for your blessing.”

“No,” Eunju said.

“Why not?” Jangmi asked, voice low and cold.

“Because I know nothing about him,” Eunju reasoned. “You never told me you had met someone, so how do I know you didn’t hire him to try to impress me?”

“Because I never could impress you no matter how well I did in school or extracurricular activities,” Jangmi explained. “Nothing I ever do is enough for you, so why bother going this far? I love Saeyoung, mother. That’s why I’m marrying him. I didn’t do it to impress anyone.”

“Jangmi, that is enough,” Eunju said evenly, seemingly unaffected by Jangmi’s words.

“Well at least something I did in my life was enough for you,” Jangmi bit.

Everyone was silent. Saeyoung stared at Jangmi in awe.

“Sooo,” Nali said slowly. “Where’s our food?”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~A few hours later…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: Motherfucker…

Jangmi: So my mother’s in town

Jumin Han: That’s nice, Jangmi.

Jangmi: Bitch no it ain’t.

Jangmi: She assumed I hired Saeyoung to be my fake fiancee to impress her.

ZEN: lolololololololol

Jangmi: Keep laughing and I lock you in a closet full of cats.

Jumin Han: hahahaha

Jangmi: You I will feed to an army of gold diggers.

Jaehee Kang: Jangmi, I know you’re upset, but there is no need to threaten Zen.

Jumin Han: And I don’t exist, is that right?

Jangmi: Do any of us exist outside of our own minds?

ZEN: Dude.

Jumin Han: Jangmi, please stop. I didn’t take philosophy.

Jangmi: I should go. My sister says hello.

Jaehee Kang: Tell your sister I said the same.

Jumin Han: Do extend my greetings to her as well.

ZEN: You have a sister?

*Jangmi has logged out.*

ZEN: Huh.

ZEN: Well, I should go now.

ZEN: See ya, Douchey McTrust Fund.

*ZEN has logged out.*

Jaehee Kang: …

Jumin Han: That’s a new one.

Jaehee Kang: I should go as well. The shop needs cleaning.

Jumin Han: Of course. Have a good evening, Jaehee.

Jaehee Kang: You as well, Jumin.

*Jaehee Kang has logged out.*

*Jumin Han has logged out.*

*707 has logged in.*

707: GAAAYYYYYYY

*707 has logged out.*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~The next evening…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Choi men and the Park women ate their dinner in silence.

This evening had been set aside for questioning Saeyoung about things like work and such.

“So,” Eunju said, “you’ve been caring for your younger brother in the same house as my daughter.”

“Yes,” Saeyoung responded.

“Is there a problem with that?” Saeran asked.

“Well, two grown men in the same house with an unmarried girl, doesn’t it seem a tad…questionable?”

“Ma’am, I have no interest in your daughter,” Saeran said, his voice getting slightly angrier.

“Saeran here actually introduced us!” Jangmi added, clearly trying to diffuse the tension.

“Did he,” Eunju said.

Jangmi and Saeyoung smiled and nodded in harmony.

“He did,” Saeyoung concurred. “Really, if he hadn’t introduced Jangmi into my life, I have no idea where I would be.”

Jangmi smiled at Saeyoung warmly. She extended a similar, though smaller smile to Saeran.

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Nari asked Saeran.

“I’m gay,” Saeran said.

“Oh, okay then.”

“He’s gay?” Eunju asked.

“Yes, Mother,” Jangmi said. “If you have a problem with that like you have with everything else so far, then I’m wondering why you came here in the first place. To trash my efforts some more? You really seem to like doing that for some reason.”

“Jangmi, that is quite enough,” Eunju began.

“No, actually, it’s NOT enough!” Jangmi asserted, banging her hands on the table. “I have a LOT more to say on THAT subject that I for one REALLY think you should hear. And I am gonna say them whether you like it or not.”

“Jangmi, hold your tongue now or else,” Eunju warned.

“Or else what? You’ll disown me? Toss me out on the streets again? Make me feel like more of a failure than I already do? Because that third thing happened the second I heard you were coming here!”

“Jangmi! Shame on you for behaving like this in front of guests!” Eunju spat.

Everyone was silent. Saeran and Nari had similar expressions - Saeran because he’d never seen Jangmi angry before, and Nari because she’d seen this scenario before and she did NOT like having to see it again.

Jangmi stood up slowly.

“Mother,” she said evenly, coldly, “YOU are the guest in MY home. I left home, not only because you kicked me out once I became of age, but because I had been accepted into a university nearby. I also wished to become independent, become my own person! And meeting Saeyoung, and Saeran, and the rest of the RFA - I like to think that I am my own person now. And if you disagree with the choices I’ve made as my own person, I will not apologize since those decisions have made me very, VERY happy! Yes, there have been ups and downs, but that just comes with being ALIVE, Mother! I don’t know why you’ve never been proud of any of my accomplishments, and I would like to know why that is NOW!”

Jangmi, having finished her rant, was panting. She was staring her mother down angrily. Her mother was staring back in shock.

Nari was clinging to Saeran’s sleeve nervously. Saeran was wishing he were anywhere else. Saeyoung was not really sure what to think.

“Well?” Jangmi said. “Explain yourself. Why are you never proud of me?”

More silence.

“Jangmi,” Eunju said calmly, “sit. Down.”

“No. Not until you answer me.”

The mother-daughter staredown continued unabated. Nari was near tears. Saeran was starting to get fidgety.

“Saeran, Nari, why don’t you two go put away your plates and find something to do in the other room?” Saeyoung offered, smiling despite the tension thick enough to drown a person.

“Thank GOD,” Saeran grumbled as he stood up from his chair. Nari followed him silently, still gripping his sleeve.

He sat down in the office at his computer. Nari sat on the couch.

Saeran’s leg bounced.

“It smells like Dr. Pepper in here,” she said.

“Blame my idiot brother for that,” Saeran sighed.

“Do you like Pokemon?” Nari asked.

“Why?”

“Because I wanna know.”

Saeran had no idea why he was humoring this child. He didn’t do children.

“Yeah, sure, I guess,” he grumbled. “It’s been years since I played though.”

“Which region was the last one you played in?” Nari asked.

Saeran was confused. “It had snow in it, I think?”

“Was it 2D or 3D?” she asked.

“2D,” he responded.

“Color or monochrome?”

“Color.”

“Was the character in a coat?”

“What is this, 20 Questions?” Saeran mumbled.

“I’m the one asking questions here mister, now answer me!” Nari snapped.

“No coat,” Saeran said, a little too quickly for his own liking.

“Okay,” Nari said with a nod. “You were playing either Diamond or Pearl then. Do you remember what the game card thingy looked like?”

“Why the hell would I remember something like that?!” Saeran asked.

“Sorry, just thought I’d ask…” Nari mumbled, pouting.

She saw something on the side table.

“Ooh, whose phone is this?” Nari asked.

“That’s mine, don’t touch - I SAID DON’T TOUCH IT YOU BRAT!”

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Chat Name: A Wild Wild Weekend

saeran: [image_7.jpg]

saeran: adfgkhrixhgnibdjfigj

Yoosung★: Is that Jangmi’s sister in the foreground?

saeran: Little brat stole my phone…

Yoosung★: lolololol

saeran: Not funny Yoosung.

Yoosung★: sorry;;

saeran: Whatevehfifjfjgivsodiruziopo

Yoosung★: ?!!?!!?!

saeran: r u saeran oppas bf???

Yoosung★: ???!!??!?!!??!

saeran: jfk fofkcjddkfkfofkgkfit

Yoosung★: Wha…?

Yoosung★: I am so confused…

saeran: Ignore all of that.

Yoosung★: I have no idea what just happened…

saeran: Jangmi’s sister grabbed my phone.

saeran: AGAIN.

Yoosung★: ^^;;

Yoosung★: Where are Jangmi and Saeyoung?

saeran: Jangmi’s mother…

Yoosung★: OH.

Yoosung★: GASP!!!

saeran: ?

Yoosung★: Does she not approve of the marriage??!?!

saeran: Seems like it.

saeran: Nari just said that their mother doesn’t like Saeyoung.

Yoosung★: Awww…

Yoosung★: But Jangmi doesn’t care what people say, she does what she wants!

Yoosung★: She’ll stay with Saeyoung anyway! Because she loves him!

saeran: That and they’re both weirdos.

Yoosung★: Well yeah, but mostly that first thing!

Yoosung★: Tell Nari I said hello!

saeran: u didnt answer my question tho r u saerans bf or not

Yoosung★: Um…

saeran: That fucking brat.

Yoosung★: …

saeran: Yoosung.

saeran: You don’t have to respond if it makes you uncomfortable, okay?

Yoosung★: Would you want to though?

saeran: Want to what?

Yoosung★: Um…

Yoosung★: Be boyfriends?

*saeran has logged out.*

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~Meanwhile, in the dining room…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

If Saeyoung was already nervous before, now he was fighting back running from the room screaming.

And Jangmi and Eunju hadn’t even stopped glaring at each other.

And Saeyoung was very much aware of Jangmi’s discomfort with eye contact - she only made it when she trusted someone enough to weaken herself. Whenever she locked eyes with him, he always felt like he could and would take on the world.

She was trying - consciously or otherwise - to tell her mother to be honest, because at this point they were equals whether Eunju thought so or not.

But one thing was certain.

Both Jangmi and her mother were stubborn as fuck.

Saeyoung watched as his fiancee and future mother-in-law continued to glare at each other.

“Well?” Jangmi spat. “Say something.”

“What is there to say?” Eunju said, voice wavering. “You’ve already shown how grateful you are for giving you everything you could ask for.”

“Tell me one thing you’re proud of me for once and maybe, just MAYBE, I’ll consider thanking you for a lifetime of making me feel like a failure!”

Eunju was silent.

Jangmi smiled. Saeyoung felt his heart break at the sight. Jangmi’s smiles were meant to be warm and bright and true, not cold and dark and…

“I thought so,” Jangmi choked out in a whisper. She walked to her and Saeyoung’s room, not even glancing back.

Eunju stared at her hands in her lap.

“Are you really not proud of her?” Saeyoung asked suddenly.

“I never said I WASN’T proud of her!” Eunju spat. She sighed, hunching her shoulders and putting her head in her hands. “I don’t know why she’s acting like this…what did I do wrong…?”

“Well, from an outsider’s perspective, you appear to be guilt tripping Jangmi,” Saeyoung said. “You’re also not acknowledging her successes, choosing instead to focus on her failures. I’ve seen what that does to people - it’s not pretty.”

Eunju was silent.

“Saeran and I never had a good relationship with our mother,” Saeyoung continued with a sigh. “She sometimes didn’t even bother feeding us just to buy herself booze. She’d… physically abuse us, try to keep us from leaving our room. Since Saeran has always been pretty sickly, he was the most frequent target of our mother’s wrath.”

Eunju remained silent. Saeyoung was starting to feel a tad uncomfortable.

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” Eunju said.

“No need,” Saeyoung assured. “It happened, we got out, there’s nothing else to it. It’s not something that just goes away, sure, but it’s like with anything, time and love can heal the wounds. Some wounds won’t heal, but they can be tolerated.”

“I can understand that much,” Eunju sighed.

Saeyoung hummed in response.

“I honestly had no idea Jangmi felt this way,” Eunju said. “She’s always been an odd one, keeping to herself more often than not. She never did like troubling others with her problems. She would rather help others with theirs than speak of her own.”

“Yeah,” Saeyoung said wistfully. “She’s so, so kind…”

Eunju stared at Saeyoung.

“You really love my Jangmi, don’t you?” she stated more than asked.

“She’s my universe,” Saeyoung affirmed.

Silence.

“Well then,” Eunju said. “I wish you both happiness. You have my blessing.”

Saeyoung perked up. He smiled.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi cried into her pillow - the last time she’d done this was during the week Saeyoung had stayed with her in Rika’s apartment and tried to push her away. The big difference was that at least she could understand why Saeyoung acted as he did. Her mother, she doubted she would ever understand.

She heard the bedroom door open. A weight settled beside her, lighter than her fiancee’s by far.

“You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for,” Eunju said.

Jangmi said nothing.

“You’ve always been a selfless one, always wanting to help others,” the older woman continued. “You never wished to burden others with your troubles, so you kept them to yourself. I apologize for not having noticed sooner.”

Jangmi remained silent.

“I will allow Nari to stay the night here with you and your fiancee,” Eunju said. “We are leaving for home tomorrow.”

Still more silence.

Jangmi felt her mother get up from the bed and leave the room.

Now she was crying into her pillow for a more positive reason.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**_ ~The following morning…~ _ **

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Jangmi stood hugging Nari farewell as Eunju looked on.

Jangmi looked up toward her mother and smiled.

Eunju returned the smile.

“You’re gonna send wedding invitations soon, right Unnie?” Nari asked.

Jangmi giggled. “Soon, once we have other things settled first,” Jangmi said.

“How long is that gonna take?” Nari asked flatly.

“Until later this month at the earliest,” Jangmi said. “But I promise I’ll keep you posted, okay Nari?”

Nari smiled. “Okay! Tell Saeran-Oppa to keep in touch, okay?”

“I will, don’t you worry,” Jangmi assured.

“Thank you for having us,” Eunju said. “We may return over the summer if circumstances will allow.”

Jangmi smiled. “I’ll look forward to it.”

As Jangmi waved her mother and sister farewell at last, she just knew that her relationship with her mother was going to improve even further.

She decided that tonight they would order pizza for dinner…

Then she got a call from Saeyoung.

“Hi, Saeyoungie~ I’m on my way home now. Did you need something?”

“Babe, when did you last check the RFA chatroom?” Saeyoung asked.

“Friday evening for sure. Why do you ask?”

“Just check it. It’s…it’s wild.”

Jangmi checked every chat from Friday night to now.

Her eyes widened. “I’m on my way back,” she said quickly.

She wasn’t sure whether to feel sad for Saeran or Yoosung, so she settled for both.

There goes her plan to invite Yoosung over for pizza tonight…

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... --- .-. .-. -.-- / .- --. .- .. -. / ..-. --- .-. / - .... . / .-.. .- - . -. . ... ... .-.-.- / .. / .--. .-. --- -- .. ... . / - --- / -.. --- / -... . - - . .-. / -. . -..- - / - .. -- . .-.-.-

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this~


End file.
